Binding Destinies
by MaxKnight1010101
Summary: PRDT AU - A completely different take on the events of the series.  Besides the characters and concepts, will not be keeping to the plot.  All Rangers are supposedly destined to be, but what if they somehow knew it all along?
1. The Weight of Destiny

**Author's Notes**: Welcome to my brand new story idea. I've been thinking about this one for a couple of weeks, running away with the idea and adding things in here and there. A few extra ideas merged with the original one, and I'll admit getting inspiration from some other stories I've read recently. Unfortunately, these same stories that I got my inspiration from appear to have been abandoned for many years, now. Some of my latest added favorite stories for that matter being the case. They are excellent story ideas that just never seemed to go anywhere. So I wrote up the seventh chapter of _The Summer After_ and was still in the mood to write a little more, so I banged out this chapter. As always, comments and concerns are welcome, as well as speculation into some of the more mysterious things I've alluded to. This piece is one hundred per cent AU as far as the Dino Thunder series is concerned, and the only the barest of facts from the show are transcribed here. I hope you all enjoy my latest creation. I think it's slightly more inspired than my previous story. Oh, and don't worry about the fact that I have seemingly started a new story already, I have no intention of abandoning _The Summer After_ any time soon. I have too many other ideas to go with it for me to give up on it so easily.

**Disclaimer**: Power Rangers is currently owned by Saban. Power Rangers Dino Thunder was owned by Disney at the time. I only own the story and words.

* * *

For all his life, there was a hole in his soul. There was something that he knew he was destined to do, but years of searching yielded nothing. Conner McKnight walked into his first class of his Senior year of high school early. It was uncharacteristic, but for the last month, that feeling of there being something greater for him to do was building. He couldn't shake it for anything, and decided that maybe he might find it that morning.

He found a seat at the table closest to both the front of the class and the door. A few minutes after he arrived, an African American student walked in, taking the seat across from him. He regarded Conner for a minute before speaking up, "You're Conner McKnight. What are you doing here so early?"

Conner gave the other student a funny look before replying. "Just felt like it today. Your name's Ethan, isn't it?"

"Color me surprised. You actually know my name." Conner frowned at this, then shook his head and held out his hand. Ethan looked at this hand for a moment before taking it and shaking it. In that moment, something intangible passed between them. They sensed each others' destinies for a moment, and the weight of them felt crushing.

They released their hands and stared for a moment before dismissing the feeling and turning away from each other. Several more students filed into the room, taking random spaces around the room. Soon a girl clad in black and yellow and wearing heavy makeup walked in and stopped moving. She scanned the room for a moment. Normally she would have tried to sit closer to people she actually knew, but something was pulling her. She chose the seat next to Conner, but couldn't fathom why.

The minutes ticked by, and their teacher was nowhere in sight. Finally, just before the late bell would have rung, Doctor Thomas Oliver made it through the door. He scanned his students and found three in particular that felt… emptier. One of them he recognized through the visions he's been having ever since he dared to touch the Red Gem. He took attendance and answered Cassidy Cornell's ridiculous questions as they popped up. As it was the first class, he questioned them on what all they've learned and gave them a basic idea of what they would cover over the course of the year.

Once class was over, he called Conner over to him. "Could you please come to my classroom after school is over. I'd like to discuss an after-school opportunity with you…"

Conner appeared to give this idea some thought before nodding to him. Acknowledging this, Dr. Oliver gestured for Conner to go to his next class and prepared for the rest of his day.

* * *

The day went by quickly and once the final bell had rung, Conner made his way back to Dr. Oliver's classroom. Dr. Oliver had been waiting, sitting at his desk patiently. Principal Randall had assigned him to detention duty that morning, but fortunately no one had been assigned detention that day. Conner took his seat and waited for his instructor to address him.

"Conner, I've got an offer for you. You don't have to do it, but I would appreciate it if you hear me out."

"Doctor Oliver… I only have one question…" Conner started. He looked to be concentrating hard for a moment before continuing. "Can you help me achieve my destiny?"

The professor smiled and nodded. He said, "Before we continue, I need you to promise me that everything you see and hear from this point forward is going to be kept in strict confidence. No one can know what we are about to do. Can you do that for me please?"

Another pause, before Conner made his decision. "You have my word. Whatever this is, I need to be a part of it."

"Good. Please get in your car and follow my jeep. I'll take you to your destiny."

* * *

Conner followed Doctor Oliver in his red Mustang convertible. The journey was not long, but the roads appeared to be all side streets, eventually taking him down a forested road. Their destination was a mid-sized cabin-like home in the woods. When they arrived, Conner approached his teacher and folded his arms, apparently wondering what they are doing here. Dr. Oliver simply gestured to follow him in, and walked him into his home. He silently made his way over to the counter in the kitchen on which rested a miniature T-Rex model and proceeded to pull on the jaw. A panel opened in the floor revealing stairs leading into some kind of secret basement. Conner continued to follow, wondering what he's got himself into.

Dr. Oliver stepped behind a pedestal that had a large black rock sitting on it. A light mist was emanating from the rock, and upon it sat three colorful gemstones. They were glowing softly, one each of Red, Blue, and Yellow. Conner came to a stop in front of the pedestal and looked upon his teacher expectantly.

"First, I'd like to welcome you to the Command Center. This will be our base of operations for the entire time that you will be working with me. Before you do anything, let me explain what I brought you here to do." He gestured to the gems that were sitting between them. "These three stones you see before you are called Dino Gems. They are highly powerful, containing the ancient power of the dinosaurs. The Red Gem bonded to the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Blue Gem bonded to the Triceratops, and the Yellow Gem bonded to the Pterodactyl. I have them for one purpose only: to make Power Rangers out of three chosen individuals. I tried bonding with the Red Gem about a month ago, but was not chosen by it. It's been plaguing me with visions of who would be able to bond with it. It was you Conner."

Conner did not flinch throughout the entire explanation. He somewhat expected something like this. It made sense to him. Still, there were circumstances. This might have been what he was waiting for all his life, but now he had other responsibilities. He had to explain this to him before accepting anything.

"I understand this is a great responsibility, Dr. Oliver, and I just know that this is what I'm destined to do, but there's something you need to understand…"

* * *

Conner finished his story and Doctor Oliver simply nodded. He was slightly disappointed in Conner's lack of foresight in his youth, but wasn't going to fault him for past mistakes. He said, "I understand your trepidation in undertaking this new responsibility, and will not look down on you if you pass it up. The Gem may not take to anyone else, but you need to know that this is still a choice for you. You don't have to take it up if you don't want to."

Once again, Conner thought long and hard about his fate, weighing the pros and cons of his impending choice. Finally, he came to a decision, and reached his hand out. He grasped the Red Gem, and felt a rush of energy, seeming to fill that hole that he's felt for so long in his life. Suddenly he was hit with a sense of purpose. Dr. Oliver smiled and sighed in relief, finally feeling the absence of the near constant visions of who the Gem belonged to.

Conner's eyes were closed and he seemed to be absorbing the feeling that the gem was providing him. Dr. Oliver walked over to a table lining the wall off to the side and retrieved a small metal case. He walked back over to Conner and opened it, displaying three wristbands with varying figures on them, appearing to be color-coded dinosaur heads. Conner opened his eyes and noticed the new objects in front of him. He reached once again and picked up the red bracelet with the Tyranno head, strapping it to his left wrist. He jammed the Red Dino Gem into the bracelet and looked up at his science teacher expectantly.

He closed the case back up and replaced it on the table. He addressed his new Red Ranger, saying, "On your wrist right now is what we call a Dino Morpher. To use it, you say 'Dino Thunder, Power Up,' and press the button. Go ahead and give it a try."

Conner nodded and took a step back. He held his left wrist right in front of him and opened the mouth of the Tyranno head with his right hand. He raised his left wrist up by the right side of his head, crossing it in front of this right wrist; his right hand making a claw formation. He cried out, "Dino Thunder!" Next he whipped his left wrist back over to his left side, his wrist turned inward with the Dino Morpher facing his torso; his right arm thrust outward. He shouted, "Power Up!" Finally, he brought his right hand back and pressed the button on the morpher, shouting, "Hah!" The eye glowed and the mouth closed on the Tyranno head. Conner was surrounded by an intense bright light, and a moment later was clad in the costume of the Red Dino Thunder Ranger.

Doctor Oliver nodded in approval, reminiscing on his past as he remembered the feeling of transforming into his previous Ranger uniforms. Conner reached up and popped the latches on either side of his helmet, taking it off and holding it to the side. He said, "Now that I've grasped it, what do I do now?"

"Now, we wait. You can go about your life like normal. You were chosen for this power because there is something on the horizon. An evil being known as Mesogog is after the Gems for some reason. I don't know where he came from or how he found out about the Gems, but he suddenly appeared on the private island I was working on three years ago and attacked. The island was destroyed and I barely escaped with my life… and the Gems. As all Power Rangers do, you wait for the villain to make the first move and counter them."

Conner nodded, understanding that superheroes rarely went on the attack. He gazed upon the other two, unclaimed Gems. He suddenly came to an understanding. His musings were interrupted by the suddenly blaring alarm. He looked about in confusion, but Dr. Oliver appeared to know exactly what was going on. He rushed over to his computer in the back and pinpointed the location of the disturbance. An image popped up on the screen, showing some strange looking robotic dinosaurs that were attacking two civilians; teenagers by the looks of it. Conner recognized them as the girl that sat next to him in science that morning and that Ethan kid. Dr. Oliver turned back to him and said, "Put your helmet back on and prepare to be teleported."

Conner did as he was ordered and felt a disorienting sensation. In the next moment he was on the location of the attack. He rushed to the aid of his fellow students and started beating back the strange soldiers using a combination of martial arts knowledge that he learned from an early age and some new, intuitive knowledge that apparently comes with the Ranger powers. After a few minutes of fighting, the opposition retreated, leaving Conner alone with the two. He turned to them and regarded them. They, too, gazed upon him, and the girl spoke after a moment. "Conner McKnight?"

Conner looked taken aback at the sudden declaration, wondering how it is that she knew who he was through the helmet. Ethan squinted at him, seeming to concentrate for a moment before his eyes got wide, and he exclaimed, "It is! You are Conner!"

The confirmation was too much for Conner, and while he knew it shouldn't bother him that they knew, it still did. He lifted his morpher to the front of his helmet and said, "I think you should teleport the three of us in, Doc."

"_Are you sure about that, Conner?"_

"Yes I am. They are the ones. It's probably why they were attacked."

"_Whatever you say. Prepare for teleportation."_

The other two looked at each other in confusion before they felt a slightly nauseating feeling. Their surroundings suddenly changed and they were in some kind of cave-like structure. The Red Ranger before them shouted, "Power Down" and was suddenly Conner McKnight. Conner approached them and said, "Don't freak out. You've been brought here for a reason. Have you ever felt it? That feeling of emptiness like there's something more out there that you're meant to do? I've felt that for my entire life, and haven't been able to fill that void until about twenty minutes ago. I've felt the weight of both of your destinies, and have seen them fulfilled."

They both looked at him like he'd grown two additional heads. Seeing this unblinking confusion, Conner gestured to the black rock on the pedestal, saying, "These two Gems here are the key. I've seen that you two are the ones they belong to; or more like, you are the ones who belong to them. Will you help me and stand by my side as fellow Rangers?"

They appeared to think on it for a few minutes, Conner fidgeting anxiously while he waited, and finally they both seemed to come to a decision. In the next moment, they reached their hands out to grab their Gems, and the Gems flew off of the rock and into their hands; the blue one into the hand of the boy and the yellow one into the hand of the girl. Conner let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and strode over to the table containing the metal case with the other two morphers. He opened the case and presented them with the bracelets, explaining, "These are your Dino Morphers. We use these to become Power Rangers. They need the Dino Gem to power them. In order to morph, you just need to say 'Dino Thunder, Power Up.' You'll know what to do when it comes time."

They reached out and took the correctly colored morpher, attaching it to their left wrists in the same way as Conner did. The dino head on the bracelet disappeared, leaving a hole where their Gem was to be placed. They jammed their Gems into the slot and watched as they glowed faintly for a moment before calming back down. They looked back up at Conner, who had replaced the metal case on the table that he found it on. The girl addressed him, "Where are we? I know you didn't do all this on your own."

Conner chuckled. He motioned to a place in the shadows, as if beckoning for someone to join them. "We're in the Command Center under the house of our mentor. He should be joining us in a moment…"

From the shadows that he gestured towards came a figure. Once the light revealed him, they saw their science teacher, Dr. Thomas Oliver. He smirked at their twin expressions of horror and disbelief. "Yes, I'm the one who prepared this place. Please let me explain what's going on…"

Conner interrupted him before he could launch into his explanation, "I've got to get home, Doc. You know…"

"Go ahead, Conner. I'll catch you up tomorrow after school."

Conner left through the house entrance and climbed into his car, preparing himself an explanation as to why he's getting home late. His two fellow students stayed with Dr. Oliver and got the full explanation of why they need to be Power Rangers and what the responsibility means. After getting their agreement that anything they see and hear is to be kept confidential to themselves, he teleported them back to a secluded location close to where they got attacked. From their they went home with the promise that there will be more explanations would be forthcoming the following day.


	2. Secrets Come to Light

**Author's Notes**: I was on a roll and didn't get any sleep this morning! Woo! I just uploaded chapter one about six hours before finishing this chapter, and haven't gotten but 9 total views to this story and no reviews since it posted. By this time tomorrow, I'll likely have much more, but for now, it's slow going. I had a ton of fun with this chapter, starting with the big reveal of both Tommy's history and on into Conner's secret. While Tommy acknowledged that it would be difficult for them to become instant friends, he hadn't counted on them already sharing a bond of destiny, which helped them to have already connected. This is why the scene towards the end of the chapter is able to make so much sense. All three of them have already started to adapt to one another, and it can basically only get stronger from here on out. I hope everyone enjoys my latest idea! Feel free to leave comments and criticisms in the review box!

**Disclaimer**: Power Rangers is currently owned by Saban. Power Rangers Dino Thunder was owned by Disney at the time. I only own the words and the story. Oh, and Caroline and Jessica are totally mine.

* * *

The next morning, all three of the newly minted Dino Thunder Rangers arrived in class early. They greeted each other; still a little wary of one another, somewhat wondering if the events of the previous day even actually took place. One look at their wrists, however, proved that it was no dream. Doctor Oliver also arrived early, which is unusual to anyone that actually knew him. The three jumped up to talk with him, but he held his hands up and motioned for them to be seated. He said, "I'll talk after school, guys. This way there's less chance of any other students walking in on the conversation." They sat back down and opened their textbooks in order to look busy. Students slowly filed into the classroom as the time for the first bell came closer. The day wore on without incident, and the three wandered back into the science classroom after the final bell rang.

He got up from his desk to address them. "Let's meet back at the Command Center and I'll explain a few more things. I'll leave it up to you guys on how you want to get there."

He left the classroom and went out to his own vehicle. The other two turned to Conner, who was not only the only one of them who had a car, but was the only one of them who knew the way to Dr. Oliver's house. He took the signal and let them pick between each other who took the passenger seat and who was relegated to the back on their way to his car.

The drive was uneventful again. The girl, who Conner now knew was Kira Ford, marveled at the house. Ethan was more or less unimpressed, caring more about what's hidden beneath the house than the house itself. He led them inside and showed them the method for opening the hidden door to the Command Center. They walked down the staircase and into the dimly lit base of operations. Dr. Oliver was seated at the computer console, apparently waiting for them to arrive.

He spun in his seat to face them. Standing up, he said, "So you want a little more explanation for why you're here. Or perhaps why I'm here? First off let me start by saying that I'm not exactly a neophyte when it comes to Rangering." He flicked both of his wrists and shouted, "It's Morphin' Time!" He brought his right arm up vertical and crossed his left wrist in front of his right one. He cried out, "Zeo Ranger Five, Red!" He then crossed his wrists in front of his face and dropped his arms to either side of himself. A bright light was emitted from him as his Ranger suit formed around him. The light died and in place of their science teacher was the towering presence of the Red Zeo Ranger. His students gaped at him. After all, teachers weren't supposed to be cool and former Power Rangers, right?

"I see I've stunned you speechless. I am a veteran of many Ranger teams, and have led a fair share of them. I wanted you to know this now, as even being on the sidelines as your mentor, I may seem to being trying to undermine Conner's authority by giving you orders. I want you to know that I won't be doing it intentionally. Anything that sounds like an order, I want you to simply regard as a suggestion from someone with more experience… Power Down!" His Ranger suit melted off of him, leaving Doctor Oliver in its place.

Conner was the first of them to find his voice. "Um… well… this was unexpected. Thank you for being up front, though."

Kira was next. "I guess this explains the whole 'ruins of an ancient civilization' thing you've got going on in here."

Finally, Ethan spoke up. "Yeah, Doctor O., you're already a legend in among Rangers. I remember hearing about your battle against the head of the Machine Empire when you guys went giant sized!"

Dr. Oliver smiled at the memory, remembering how he enjoyed that battle. "Yeah, that was fun. Now I know you three all come from completely different worlds, but you've all been called together as a team under my guidance and Conner's leadership to defend Reefside and all of planet Earth. While I don't expect you all to become best friends by tomorrow, I do expect you all to get to know each other and at least be able to work together when the time comes to fight. Can you all do that?" All three nodded at this prompting and Tommy, satisfied with the response, grinned back to them. "Alright, if there are no more questions, you're all dismissed. I'll beep you on your morphers if anything pops up."

The three left and piled into Conner's car. He turned to them and asked, "So, where can I take you guys?"

Kira regarded him from her place in the back seat and answered, "Ethan wanted to invite us to this hangout he frequents, you wanna come along?"

"Ah… I would, but I've got to get home… Family obligations, you know?" He started the car and begun driving back towards town. "I'll drop you off there, though. What's the place called?"

Ethan piped up, "It's called Hayley's Cyberspace café. It's just beyond the school right on the edge of the industrial district."

The ride to Hayley's was pleasant and silent. Conner dropped them off on the corner closest to the café, waving to them as they walked off. He drove home and entered the house feeling a little bad for abandoning his new friends and teammates. His mother saw him walk in and noticed the look on his face. She walked up to him and asked, "What's wrong, honey?"

Conner took a deep breath and came to a decision. "I think it's time, mom. I've got to stop hiding. I made some new friends in the last couple of days, and I don't want to lie to them as to why I can't just hang out with them. I think it's time I told them. I'm not ashamed… I don't want to feel like I'm ashamed…" His mother pulled him into a hug and softly affirmed her agreement to him.

* * *

The next morning brought the Rangers back into Dr. Oliver's science room. Kira seemed a little excited. She shook Conner's shoulder when as she sat down. "Guess what? Hayley is giving me a gig this Friday! Finally I get to perform someplace. This is so exciting!"

"That's cool. I don't think I've had the pleasure to hear you sing, yet. I can't wait for the concert…" Conner trailed off as if he wasn't sure of what he wanted to say next. Finally screwing up his courage, he said, "Hey, guys… After school today, were you guys planning to meet at that café again?" He waited to see them both nod. "Okay, I have to go home to get something, but I'll be joining you today. That alright?"

"Sure Conner." Ethan said. "Why wouldn't it be alright?"

"We're a team now, and you're our leader. There's no reason why we wouldn't want you to join us." Kira said, trainer her gaze on him a little longer and harder than he'd ever been used to.

"That's great." Conner said. The first difficulty now hurdled, Conner rode through the rest of the day, paying more attention than he's known for and seeming to try to put more effort in. At the end of the day, he rushed off to get home, doing what he had to do, and making his way to the parking area for the cybercafé.

Getting out of his car, he took his charge by the hand and walked into the café, seeing his friends sitting at a more central table in the room. They hadn't noticed his arrival, so when he took a seat with them and saw a little girl sitting on his lap, neither one of them were quite sure what was going on. Kira decided to venture a guess first. "What's this Conner, babysitting?"

Conner shook his head and said, "No. Kira, Ethan? I'd like you to meet Caroline… my daughter."

* * *

The Blue and Yellow Rangers' eyes widened at Conner's declaration. Conner the Father? Who would have seen that one coming. Conner could see the questions swimming in their eyes and said, "I'll give you the details later. In fact, let me know when you want to go to the Doc's house. I'll fill you guys in there." He turned to Caroline and said, "You thirsty?" She nodded vigorously. He smiled and said, "Let's see if Hayley has any juice." He picked her up and walked over to the counter to address Hayley.

Once they had walked away, Ethan turned to Kira and asked, "What's this about? Conner having a kid should've been all over the school's gossip front. I mean, all the students that saw him come in are staring at him like they don't know what's going on…"

"I have no idea. This is the first I've heard of it. I wonder who her mother is…" Ethan thought he heard something in her voice that he couldn't identify, but decided to ignore it as Conner was returning to the table. He set her back down in his lap and she was happily sipping away at the juice Conner had just gotten for her. Kira spoke down to the little girl, asking, "So, Caroline… how old are you?"

Caroline looked away shyly and didn't say anything. Conner looked at her and said, "Go ahead, honey, Kira's a friend. You can tell her."

This time Caroline looked up at Kira and smiled sweetly at her, saying, "I'm three years old."

Conner's heart still melts whenever he sees that smile, and if the looks on his teammates' faces told him anything, it did the same for them. Caroline finished her juice and set her cup down on the table. Conner asked her, "Do you want to go meet another friend of mine?"

Caroline's eyes got wide and she exclaimed excitedly, "Oh can we daddy? Please?"

Conner laughed and said, "Sure, princess. We'll leave as soon as these two are ready to go."

They both stood up, signifying that they were ready to go whenever. Conner stood up as well and took Caroline by the hand, walking her out of the café to the car, with Kira and Ethan following closely behind. They had already more or less shed their original view of the so-called 'King of Reefside' by watching his actions over the last couple of days, but now they were privy to a completely new facet of their Red Ranger.

* * *

The ride to Dr. Oliver's home was anything but quiet. When they got into the car, Kira unconsciously got in the back seat with Caroline and found the little girl to be quite talkative. Ethan remained quiet, apparently content to keep to his own thoughts, while Conner appeared to be deep in thought, despite the fact that he was driving. They arrived in a short time, and once the front seats were cleared, Caroline practically bounced out of the car and into Conner's arms. They walked up to the door as a group and walked in. Conner called out, "Hey Doc, you here?"

"In the kitchen!" Dr. Oliver called out. They walked into the kitchen and found him sitting at the island, looking over some lesson plans. He looked up and was surprised for a moment to see the bundle Conner was carrying. Once realization set in, he said, "Ah, this must be Caroline. I'm your father's science teacher, Doctor Oliver, but if you want, you can call me Uncle Tommy."

Kira stifled a laugh at this, having never heard such a thing from her instructor before. Conner just smiled and shook his head, saying, "Think I can set her down to watch some cartoons or something for awhile? I have something to tell my teammates…"

Dr. Oliver simply nodded and got up to take Caroline from Conner's arms. He walked towards his study and could be heard saying, "Do you like dinosaurs?"

Conner gestured to the island and took a seat. After they sat down, he let out a breath and said, "So I guess you want to hear the whole story, eh?" They nodded expectantly. "Okay, I'll start at the beginning…

"Four years ago, I was in love with this girl, Jessica. You could say that we were in love with each other. We were both young and not entirely too smart, but we didn't care either. One day she came to me and told me she was pregnant. We were both only fourteen and a little scared, but at the same time, I couldn't help but be excited. I promised her that I wouldn't leave her side, and for nine long months I stayed true to that promise. There were… complications with the birth. Nothing was wrong with the baby, but something happened to Jessica. A few hours after giving birth to our baby girl, she died." Tears were welling in Conner's eyes at this point, and he couldn't help the tremble in his voice. "At first I thought I would die too, just to stay with her, but then I saw her… the life I had helped create. She was already motherless, it wouldn't be right to leave her fatherless, too. I vowed to take care of her, which was fortunate, as Jessica's parents wanted nothing to do with her. I took her in, gave her a name. My parents were disappointed in the whole situation, but were supportive once I had made my decision. They've been helping me for the last three years… I've never let on to anybody at school about Caroline, and outside of my parents and a few trusted babysitters, no one knew she was mine. I didn't feel bad at first, because I told myself I could never open my heart to anyone ever again. I mean, look what happened to the one I did? She's not here anymore. That's why I've been the way I have for the past three years. Sure, I've dated girls here and there, but none of them ever lasted more than a few days… I didn't want them to last, because if they did, tragedy would just follow behind. I didn't want to feel that kind of pain again…"

Conner was looking down at the table, sobbing gently at having to relive the memory again so soon after informing his teacher and mentor. Neither of his fellow Rangers could say anything, but they didn't look at him in pity, but in sympathy. They had never before felt the hurt he must have. After a moment he calmed down and started speaking again. "It was so easy being detached from everyone and everything. But now that I'm part of this team, I can't just keep hiding everything from everyone. But there was no way I could simply share this with you guys and no one else. I felt so bad all of a sudden. I wasn't ashamed of her, but I still managed to feel that way. I didn't want to feel that way anymore… So I'm going to stop hiding and stop pretending… But I'm going to need your help. I can't do this alone…"

His voice had trailed off so softly now that they had strained to hear what he was saying. Kira and Ethan looked to each other and then looked back to Conner, each taking one of his hands. Ethan spoke first. "Anything you need, bro. We're a team, and we have to stick together."

"Whatever problems each of us has, we can work it out. Anytime you need help, you simply have to call." Kira finished.

Conner looked back up to them with fresh tears. He grinned that famous McKnight grin at them and said, "Thanks guys. You don't know how much this means."

Any further bonding that could have taken place was cut short, as their bracelets chimed, signifying an alarm in the Command Center. Dr. Oliver emerged from his study, Caroline clinging to him. Ethan had already opened the door to their base and all five headed down. Tommy set the little girl down on a chair nearby the computer while he went to work pinpointing the location of the attack.

"What's going on, Doctor O.?" Kira questioned.

"There's a squad of Tyrannodrones wrecking havoc downtown. Morph and teleport there before too much damage can be done."

"Could you keep watch on Caroline, Doc?" Conner asked.

"Sure thing, Conner. Be careful out there guys, and good luck."

Conner looked back at his teammates and said, "Ready?"

"Ready." They chorused.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up, Hah!"

* * *

They arrived a short distance away from where the 'drones were gathered. Conner turned to address the Yellow and Blue Rangers, saying, "This is your first battle as Rangers. If you've had any self-defense classes before or have ever been taught to fight, start with that. Anything else you'll need will be taught to you by the powers."

"Got it." Kira said, while Ethan shouted, "Let's do this!"

They rushed forward and met the 'drones head on. Conner once again drew on a mix of the training he got from his youth and what the powers had taught him, while Kira and Ethan were relying on basic punches and kicks. Ethan took a nasty looking hit and rolled away, drawing his Thundermax Laser and fired at several of the opposition, cutting them down and thinning the numbers. Soon, an Invisiportal opened and another figure was added to the crowd. It appeared to be a large person dressed in jet black armor, holding a shield and wielding a nasty looking axe.

Conner drew his Thundermax Saber and cut down the Tyrannodrones he was fighting. He dashed towards the newcomer and stood in his path, asking, "Who invited you, tall, dark, and ugly?"

"So Doctor Oliver used the Gems to make Power Rangers. This is a most unsettling development. I must report this to my master." Without even a single swing, the creature left via swirling green Invisiportal, taking the remaining 'drones with it. The Rangers looked at each other, puzzling over this for a moment before teleporting back to the Command Center.

* * *

When the Rangers transformed and left, Caroline's eyes get really wide. She looked at where her father once was and said, "My daddy's a superhero!"

Dr. Oliver chuckled and said, "Yes he is, but he's still pretty new. Luckily I'm a superhero too, and I'm gonna teach him everything I know."

She looked up at him and smiled as big as she could before asking, "Can you teach me too, Uncle Tommy?"

He patted her head and told her, "One day, when you're older." She giggled in response and turned to watch her father and his friends fight to protect their town and loved ones. They watched as the strange figure entered and subsequently exited the battle. The Rangers returned to the base soon thereafter.

Once they had returned and demorphed, Caroline jumped out of her chair and rushed Conner, causing him to stumble backwards and land on his behind. The other couldn't help but laugh at this, though he knew they weren't necessarily laughing at him, since even he found this pretty funny, as well. Caroline asked him, "Why didn't you tell me you were a hero!"

"I couldn't tell you, honey. I was sworn to secrecy." She pouted at him for a moment, causing him to laugh softly. Finally, he told her, "Now you have to keep this a secret to. All of this. You can't tell anybody that we are Power Rangers, not even Grandma and Grandpa. Can you do that for me?"

She grinned at him and said, "I promise. Can I be a Power Ranger too?"

"Maybe when you're older, kid. We'll talk then."

Time was dragging on and Conner noticed it was about time to get home for dinner. Before heading out the door, Conner left Caroline with Kira and Ethan for a moment in order to ask one last question of his mentor. "Hey Doc? Considering Caroline now knows the secret, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to keep it from my parents anymore. I know there's a good reason why we shouldn't tell anybody, but I think this is something of a special circumstance…"

Tommy nodded in understanding before answering, "You're right, this is. No other Ranger has ever been in the position you're in, having to juggle not just school and Rangering, but being a parent as well. I think we can make an exception here. Are you sure your parents are going to be receptive of this, though?"

Conner thought on this for a moment. He said, "I think I can talk them around, if they don't instantly understand. Plus it'll help that I don't have to lie to my parents in front of my own impressionable daughter."

Dr. Oliver smirked at this response and shook his head. Conner rounded up the troops and marched them to his car, deciding that he would reveal this to his parents tomorrow.

* * *

Tommy sat before his personal computer in the study of his home. Since he started this Ranger team, he hadn't gotten around to telling any of his old comrades of his accomplishments, or who the new team was. He decided that it was time and begun composing an email...

[From: Oliver, Thomas

To: Campbell, Aisha; Cranston, William; DeSantos, Rockford; Hart, Kimberly; Hillard, Katherine; Kwan, Trinity; Park, Adam; Scott, Jason; Sloan, Tanya; Stewart, Justin; Taylor, Zachary

Subject: I've finally done it

Body: Hey guys,

Like the subject says, I've finally done it. There is a new Ranger team this day, and I helped create them. Remember those Gems that I rescued from the island when it exploded? Yeah, I know you all don't like to be reminded of that, and I'm still sorry it took so long to contact all of you after that. But anyways, the Gems have chosen their owners. I attempted to bond to the Red Gem about a month before school started, but failed. I started having near constant visions of who the Gem belonged to. I found him on the first day of class. He, along with the other two, had that same emptiness we all felt before accepting the power for the first time. I could feel it in their eyes. I approached him after school, and he seemed to understand that I held his destiny in my hand. He had some reservations, not because he didn't accept the danger or importance of the matter though... I'll get to that in a minute. He took on the power and rescued the other two chosen ones, bringing them back to the Command Center under my house. He explained what was going on better than I could, and convinced them to help him by taking their respective Gems. Now they are Power Rangers.

The Blue Ranger is Ethan James. Smart kid, but tends to get distracted easily. He likes to play games, which wouldn't be a problem if it didn't interfere with his school work. We've had two assignments so far and from the looks of things, he's only putting in half the effort that he could. But he was chosen to be a Ranger, so I'm sure he'll learn priorities eventually.

The Yellow Ranger is Kira Ford. She's a musician, and is rarely seen without her guitar and notebook. She reminds me of you, Kim, which is surprising considering her power comes from the Pterodactyl. Believe me, I didn't plan this. Hayley is giving her a spot on Fridays to perform with her band. The next time you guys come for a visit, you should plan to at least be here for one of her concerts. You won't regret it.

The Red Ranger is Conner McKnight. He's a soccer player, though he hasn't been going to practices recently. Before you go blaming it on his becoming a Ranger, there's something you should know about him... he has a three year old daughter named Caroline. All of these kids are just Seniors in high school, so when I learned this fact about him, I was surprised. After hearing the whole story, though, I have to admit that I'm not surprised that the Gem chose him. He has immense inner strength, and had to grow up awful fast. As it is, I couldn't ask for a better leader for this team.

They've all come from completely different backgrounds and completely different worlds. None of them even seemed to know each other outside of reputation before this school year started. Yet, even now, they've bonded together, their destinies intertwined, and you'd think that they'd been lifelong friends, what with the way they're acting with each other. They've agreed to help each other with any problems that they might have, including helping Conner with Caroline. Oh, speaking of her, she's adorable, but wound up learning the secret today. Conner introduced her to the team today, and brought her to the house so that he could more or less hand her off to me so he could tell his story to the team. The alarm sounded while she was there, and I had to watch her from in the Command Center. Let me tell you, she was so excited to see her daddy was a superhero. Conner made her promise to keep it a secret, even from his parents, but he was concerned that it wouldn't quite hold like that, so I gave him special permission to let them in. I know it's unorthodox, but sometimes you have to let the circumstances speak for themselves. I'm sure you all would support this decision, and I'm sure Zordon would understand.

Drop me a line the next time any of you are visiting our fair city of Reefside. That goes double for you, Rocky, so that I can increase my grocery allowance to prepare!

Take care, all of you, and may the power protect you.

Your Fearless Leader, Doctor Tommy Oliver]

Tommy clicked 'send' and put his computer to sleep. Satisfied that he'd done the right thing, he went upstairs to his bedroom and prepared to go to bed. This had been a full day, but he was sure that for himself and his new crew, it was only the tip of the iceberg.


	3. A Father's Devotion

**Author's Notes**:Ha ha... you all were completely thrown by that little surprise. I am pleased! Fortunately it seems that most of you also enjoyed it, too. I've had this chapter written since shortly before posting chapter 2. It's all very Conner-centric so far, but I promise to switch things up in the next few chapters so you can see some of the further reasoning behind the actions some of the characters are taking. Please, I beg of you, speculate as to what reasons you think are applicable to some of the stranger goings on as the story progresses! I think I would quite enjoy hearing what my readers think are happening. Who knows, you may say something that inspires for later in the story/another story entirely! Oh, and for the record, the idea behind the inclusion of Caroline and her entire backstory is due to reading an incomplete story from 2004 by Yellow Stranger called _The Passion of Red and Yellow_. Before reading that, I hadn't thought to make Conner have such things happen to him in his life. Since that story never got the chance to go anywhere, I figured I'd borrow a portion of the idea, changing circumstances, but keeping the general idea. I hope this doesn't offend anyone. I also hope people actually read the Author's Notes, because I very nearly almost put more effort into them than I do the story!

This is quite possibly the most I've written for anything, ever. It seems people enjoyed the surprises I brought forward in the last chapter, and I hope you all enjoy the extra couple of twists and hints I've dropped into this one. I thought I had had fun writing chapter 2, but it's nothing compared to the fun I had writing chapter 3! The actual events were written out in my head, but the details weren't there, and it's always fun to see where a story manages to write itself as you fill in the details. Sometimes, you can even surprise yourself with where your story goes… Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it, and if you have any comments or criticisms, feel free to drop me a line in the review box!

**Disclaimer**: Power Rangers is currently owned by Saban. Power Rangers Dino Thunder was owned by Disney at the time. I only own the words and the story, as well as any mentions of characters named Jessica, Caroline, and now Josh (though I think I scared him off…).

**Warning**: I shouldn't need this here, but there are weirdos out there that might be stupid enough to hold it against me. This chapter contains a scene of a father bathing his three year old daughter. Despite the fact that this is a perfectly normal thing, I can't be sure that some people don't have warped minds out there. I figured fair warning was in order, at the very least.

* * *

Conner and Caroline got home just in time for dinner that evening. Under normal circumstances, his parents may have been angry, but considering this was his first public outing with his daughter, going out to meet his friends, they decided not to say anything. The two washed up when they got in and sat down for a family dinner. Caroline was overjoyed with how she spent her afternoon, and was quite talkative throughout the meal.

Eventually, Caroline asked a question which startled Conner for a moment. She asked, "Daddy, is Kira gonna be my mommy?"

Conner very nearly choked at this, but covered it well and recovered in an overly cool manner. After a moment of thought he told her, "That's up to her, sweetie. I can't make that decision on my own."

Conner's mother smiled inwardly at this response. After what happened to Caroline's mother, she worried that Conner would never manage to trust himself to love another ever again. Not that she wanted Conner to get himself back into a situation like that again, but she trusted him more now that he's had to live with the consequences of his actions already. She knew it would do Conner a world of good to have not only close friends but a stable female companion, and should it come to that, Caroline would as well. She'll want to meet this Kira before it ever came to that, of course.

Dinner was soon over and Conner was helping his parents with the plates. He turned to Caroline and said, "Go on upstairs and get ready for your bath. I'll be up in a minute." She ran off up the stairs and Conner walked into the kitchen behind his parents.

As Conner was washing out his plate, his father turned to him a little concerned and said, "You haven't been getting out for much physical activity recently, have you? I heard you quit the soccer team…"

'_Physical activity?'_ Conner thought. _'He'll change that opinion by tomorrow.'_ Conner smiled weakly and said, "I've had a lot on my mind recently. My head wasn't in the game and I wasn't going to drag the team town." Conner shook his head. "But if it'll make you feel better, I'll go out this weekend and practice a little. Maybe I can find the time to get back into it at some point."

His father smiled back at him and nodded. Then it was his mother's turn to speak, "You know, Caroline brought up a good point. She needs an older female role model. She already appears attached to this Kira girl you met…"

Conner blushed quite scarlet at this. "Mom! I just met Kira the other day. Give me a chance to actually get to know her before you go planning the wedding…"

She held her hands up in front of her in mock surrender, saying, "Okay, okay… just, why don't you bring these new friends of yours over some time. It's been a long time since you've had genuine friends."

Conner grinned back at her as he finished with the dishes. "You can count on it," he said, "I've got to get upstairs and get her bathed and put to bed. I have a feeling that tomorrow is gonna be a big day…" He left the kitchen and walked upstairs to the bathroom where Caroline was waiting. He addressed her, saying, "I'll make you a deal, little lady… You try to bathe yourself tonight and this weekend when I go to Uncle Tommy's to train, you can stay and watch. Think you can do that?"

She smiled big at this little bit of bribery and said, "I can do it!"

Conner sat down on the closed toilet seat next to the tub and closed the drain, turning the water on warm. He said, "I'm going to sit right here and make sure you know what you're doing. If you need any help, just let me know." Once the water was filled to an appropriate level and Conner made sure the water was not too hot, Caroline stripped down and climbed in after retrieving a few of her bath toys. Conner smiled and shook his head. She was singing silly songs and playing and slowly bathing herself. About a half an hour later, the tub full of bubbles, more or less signifying that she was done. Conner held out a big fluffy towel which she wrapped herself in, drying herself off as completely as she could. While she was still wrapped in the towel, he picked her up and carried her into her bedroom, Caroline giggling the whole way. Once they reached their destination, he set her down and she scurried over to her dresser and picked out some pajamas for herself. _'She's really independent at times… I bet Kira would like that.'_ He thought to himself. He turned down her bed while she was dressing herself, after which she jumped in. Conner tucked her in and kissed her forehead, softly saying, "I love you princess; good night. I'll see you in the morning. Sweet dreams, little one." He got up and walked towards the door, turning off her light and almost closing her door, leaving it open by about an inch. He turned to his own room and prepared for bed himself, lost in thought about what's going to happen the next day…

* * *

Another bright and early morning in Dr. Oliver's science classroom. The Blue and Yellow Rangers found Conner seemingly lost in thought when they arrived. They took their seats and stared at him for a moment before he realized they were there, Kira continuing to stare for a moment longer after he returned to reality. He blinked and shook his head, clearing his throat and said, "So I asked the Doc last night… since Caroline knows about us, it's only a matter of time before she accidentally lets slip that we're Rangers, so I asked him and he said I can go ahead and bring them in."

They both looked a little shocked at first, though Ethan recovered quicker, saying, "That actually makes sense. Good luck with that, though. I hope your folks don't freak out too much."

"Thanks, Ethan."

"How is Caroline?" Kira asked.

"She's doing great. She really enjoyed last night. I'm thinking tonight after speaking with my parents after school, I'm going to take her to the playground at the park. I've got about three years of outdoor activities to make up for, if I can…" Conner got that far off look in his eyes again, which Kira smiled at for some reason.

Students ambled in for the next several minutes and Dr. Oliver himself strode in. He noticed that most of the other students that weren't his Rangers were looking in Conner's direction and whispering to each other. He had heard from Hayley about yesterday's spectacle in the café where Conner walked in with his daughter, and it seemed that the schools rumor mill was going quite strong. Kira and Ethan had noticed what was going on around them by this point and had started whispering to Conner, likely trying to coach him on what he should say and how he should act; hopefully telling as much truth as possible in the process. He took attendance and was about to start the lesson what Cassidy Cornell's hand shot up into the air. He sighed, knowing he wasn't going to like the question she was about to ask. He inclined his head and said, "Yes, Cassidy?"

She stood up and glared briefly in Conner's direction before saying, "Are we intending on covering human anatomy and sex education this year? Maybe especially the importance of _birth control_?"

Half the class snickered at this and Conner turned bright red and ducked his head, setting it down on the table in complete embarrassment. Kira glared at Cassidy. Dr. Oliver just shook his head and answered, "No Cassidy, this isn't that kind of Science class. Please refrain from any further insinuations. Now class, please pass up your completed assignments…"

The rest of the day played out in a similar manner. Over time, Conner managed to shake off the complete feeling of embarrassment, but still couldn't get over the raw contempt his fellow students appeared to now have for him. Was it truly something worthy of all the teasing and torture? But he couldn't let it get to him. Though the student body didn't know it, he was a Power Ranger, and there was no way he was going to crumple under a little pressure. He already knew the feeling of real pain, and this was nothing compared to that. The brief meetings with his teammates between classes helped strengthen his resolve over time. Once the final bell rang, Conner strode out of the school with his head held high, in stark contrast to the way he felt after that first question by Cassidy.

* * *

And yet Conner was still nervous on his way home. He was preparing to inform his parents of the secret of what was currently the second most important thing in his life. By the time he arrived, he had decided what to do. He entered his home and called out, "Mom, Dad? Could you please come into the living room? I need to talk to you guys about something…"

Caroline ran down the steps from her room, her grandmother trailing behind her, while Conner's father was already in the living room. Once they had gathered together, Conner motioned for them to sit down. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm himself. Finally, he spoke up, "The reason I called you in here is because I have something really important to tell you about. Actually, I suppose it would be easier to just show you and explain later…"

He lifted his left arm up to reveal his bracelet and Dino Gem. In the next moment, the Red Tyranno Morpher took the place of the Gem. He shouted, "Dino Thunder, Power Up! Hah!" while performing the usual motions. In the next instant, in the place of Conner was standing the Red Dino Thunder Power Ranger. He took off his helmet and stared down at his parents, awaiting their reaction.

For a moment they were unreadable. Caroline was simply grinning, having apparently forgotten that it was supposed to be a secret, and so was not worrying that Conner had just revealed it. His father recovered first, shouting, "What the hell is going on?" Conner winced at the expletive; it was not often that his father cursed, even that minorly, and especially not in front of Caroline.

"On Monday, I was approached by someone who said they could help me to achieve my destiny. He presented me with the Red Dino Gem and explained what it was. He explained that it was meant for me; it was my destiny to hold that stone and become a Power Ranger. I knew it was true, but I still explained why I might not be able to use it; I explained about Caroline and my responsibilities to her. After giving it a lot of thought, I chose my destiny."

His father didn't look completely convinced. This time it was his mother who chose to speak. "But why, Conner? How could you put yourself in this kind of danger? Think about this for a moment. She's already motherless, why are you willing to potentially make her fatherless?"

"It's not like that, Mom. There's a real danger out there, and I'm needed to help. I'm needed to lead. Kira and Ethan would be lost without their Red Ranger… The city is in danger; no, the entire world is in danger! I'm not doing this to get a cheap thrill…

"I'm doing this for Caroline."

His parents froze at this last thought. It was certainly a valid argument. Conner was fighting to protect Reefside, the Earth, but most importantly, he was fighting to protect his own daughter. Was that not the ultimate parental instinct, to protect their young? If nothing else was going to convince them, that certainly was.

His mother's expression finally softened. She said, "I can't fight that reasoning. Just do me a favor and invite those two teammates of yours over. I'd like to get to know the ones who are going to be watching my boy's back from now on."

His father, however, sighed discontentedly. He said, "I don't like it, but it looks like I don't have to like it. You've already made your decision, and it is supposedly destiny. I never believed in destiny, myself, but it seems like it plays a part here… You said you were approached on Monday? Who exactly approached you to do this?"

Conner looked away for a moment, unsure of how they were going to take this news. Returning his gaze to his parents, he said, "Do you remember that offer for an after school program from Doctor Oliver that I told you about…?" Their eyes widened at this. This was his science teacher! Why was he putting his own students in danger like that? Seeing this, Conner continued, "It's not how you think. The Doc is a veteran Power Ranger himself. I watched him turn into the Red Zeo Ranger right in front of me on Tuesday. He's been a Ranger for something like ten years now, though he hasn't been active for about 6 of those years. He's giving us extraordinary help, and even better, he can watch Caroline. One of the amazing things he has implemented is a teleportation system, and so long as someone is manning the computers, it should be possible to get any and all of us out of danger. Just last night, we had to rush out to meet an attack downtown, and while we were out there, the Doc was watching Caroline. I trust him; you should too."

Caroline jumped up at this point and shouted, "Uncle Tommy is really cool! I got to watch daddy on his computer!"

Conner's mother raised an eyebrow at this declaration. She said, "Uncle Tommy?"

Conner nodded sheepishly and placed his free hand on the back of his neck, stating, "The Doc told her to call him that. Seems he got himself twisted around her little finger right from the start. That's not to mention that I heard all Ranger children apparently refer to the other Rangers as their aunts and uncles…" His mother chuckled at this, now that she understood how close the so-called Ranger Family really was.

Any further talking and explanation was cut off, however, as the front door opened and closed and into the living room walked Conner's twin brother Eric.

* * *

Caroline jumped once again, this time rushing her actual uncle and hugging him tight; Eric bending low to return the hug. She said, "Uncle Eric! Guess what? Daddy's a superhero!"

Eric prepared to roll his eyes before he actually looked up and saw his twin wearing the red spandex and holding his helmet off to the side. He froze momentarily, unable to believe what his eyes were telling him. He let go of his niece and groaned loudly, exclaiming, "Dude! Are you freaking serious? The moment I get to the Ninja Academy, they discontinue their Ranger program, and then I come home for a visit to find my own brother gets to be a Ranger? Total gyp!"

This time it was Conner's turn to roll his eyes. He put his helmet on and powered down. He then turned to address his brother, "You realize that it's about more than just getting the chance to wear the suit? It's a real responsibility; you have to be prepared to defend not only yourself, but every innocent life that's threatened."

Eric grumbled for a second and said, "Spoilsport." He then grinned and said, "I guess it's a good thing you were chosen, then. You can have your responsibility."

Conner shook his head and cuffed his brother's shoulder. He turned back to his parents and said, "Well, if that's all, I think I'm going to take Caroline to the park." He bent down to address his daughter, "Would that be alright with you?"

Caroline smiled brightly back up to him and ran off to find her shoes. Conner chuckled at the reaction and turned back to his parents one last time before leaving. He said, "You don't have to worry. She's in the best of hands between my teammates and I, not to mention Doctor Oliver. I'll bring them all around at some point."

Caroline appeared by his side at once and grabbed his hand, all but dragging him out the door in her excitement. Conner's parents smiled at the sight, not only endeared at the little girl's excitement, but also at seeing Conner finally, really acting the part of father to Caroline.

* * *

The playground at the park was not overly crowded, though there were a fair number of children playing. As they approached on the footpath, they noticed a familiar figure sitting beneath a tree, guitar in hand. Conner started, "Is that…"

"Kira!" Caroline shouted before releasing her father's hand and dashing up to hug the blond singer. Kira uncharacteristically giggled back in response. Conner jogged up to them and grinned at the sight, his expressions not betraying the internal turmoil this sight was causing him. His heart tugged at the sight in front of him, reminding him so much of an action a child would do with her mother, yet fear tinged this feeling. It was irrational fear, but it was fear nonetheless. Kira, for her part, did well in hiding the same mix of feelings under her own wide smile.

"You don't mind some company, do you?" Conner asked as he sat down beside her. She released Caroline from her embrace and shook her head. Conner addressed his daughter and said, "Go ahead, sweetie. Go play and make some friends of your own. I'll be right here if you need me." Caroline ran towards the play area, giggling the whole way. Conner turned to regard the girl sitting next to him. She had her guitar in her lap and a notebook off to the side. His eyes asked his questions before he could voice them.

"I sometimes come to the park for inspiration. Just sitting here gave me an idea for another song." She gazed in wonder at the sight of the children playing, basking in an unrivaled feeling of joy given off from her surroundings.

She was broken from her reverie by Conner's voice. "Caroline said the funniest thing last night…"

"What's that, Conner?"

"Oh, she asked me a question at dinner… She wanted to know if you were going to be her mother…" He laughed softly at the thought, not realizing that it sounded like he believed it to be a laughable thing. Once he realized what it all sounded like, he quickly regretted it, yet when he turned to her, expecting a hurt expression, he was surprised to find that she was simply smiling at him. It unnerved him just a little. He cleared his throat and continued talking, "My mother actually mentioned something similar to me after dinner. She claims it would be good for Caroline to have an older female role model that isn't her grandmother… Although I suppose you're already filling in that role due to our current relationship as teammates…"

There it was again. That strange, smiling regard she seemed to have for him. So momentarily creeped out was he that her sudden subject change actually startled him. "How did your parents take the news?" She was visibly stifling a laugh at this point, though he could not for the life of him figure out why.

"Not well, at least at first." He started. "But I explained myself, apparently satisfactorily, since they are not going to give me grief about it." He stared off for a moment before saying, "My mother wants to meet you and Ethan, at least, and possibly the Doc as well."

They sat in companionable silence for several minutes. Finally Kira broke the silence, "Conner, I have a confession to make to you…" He looked at her in mild confusion before she continued, "You see, Conner, I'm-"

"Hey McKnight!"

The voice penetrated their conversation with such force that Conner actually forgot that Kira was telling him something. He recognized the voice as belonging to one of his old soccer teammates. Josh was now the team captain, but even without the title, Conner was still the best player on the team. They were all a little miffed that he quit. Conner turned his head to address the unwanted visitor. "Can I help you, Josh?"

"Yeah, McKnight, you can tell me why you quit. You had no right to leave the team like that."

Conner sighed before answering. "There were more important things going on than just playing soccer. My head wasn't—and still isn't—in the game. I'm no good to you right now. I'm not making any promises... I may get back into it sometime later, but for now, I can't."

"You can't? YOU CAN'T? What the heck is more important than soccer? It's been your life for the past three years! Probably longer considering you came here with all that blasted talent in the first place!"

"You really want to know what's more important? My education for one. Soccer can only take me through so far of my life, and I'll need something to fall back on once I'm too old for it."

Josh's eyes narrowed dangerously and he reached down and grabbed Conner by the collar of his shirt, hauling him to his feet. "Education? Are you freaking kidding me? Soccer is your key into college; your key to playing pro one day!"

He looked about ready to haul off and hit the Red Ranger. Conner didn't flinch and simply said, "Please, I'd rather not fight. I'm trying to set a good example for Caroline…"

Josh lowered his fist a little, slightly confused at this. Apparently he hadn't heard the word in the halls about Conner's child. "Who's Caroline? You're little girlfriend there?"

Before Conner could answer, a little girl on the playground had noticed the commotion coming from nearby the tree. She ran up to the two and asked, "Who's this, daddy? Another friend?"

Another round of confusion for Josh, who lowered his fist completely and started jerking his head back and forth to look at Conner, then Caroline, then back to Conner. Finally, Conner spoke up, "Josh, meet Caroline… my daughter." Now Josh's eyes got really wide as he stared down at the little girl. He heard Conner say, "Could you please let me go and leave me alone?"

And so he did. Conner was released from Josh's grasp. He was apparently in shock, as he could be heard muttering silently as he walked away, no one able to decipher what he was saying. Conner sat back down and leaned against the tree, trying to steady his breathing. Caroline sat down next to him and hugged him, asking, "Are you okay, daddy? Did that man hurt you?"

He pulled her close to him and said, "No, baby, he didn't. He just wanted to ask me a question and didn't like the answer. Caroline, you can't get angry at people if you don't like the answers that they give you. You need to live with the choices that other people make, even if you don't like them. Getting mad doesn't help anybody…"

"It's okay, daddy. I promise."

"I love you, honey. Always know that." He whispered to her.

"I love you, too, daddy."

* * *

Kira had witnessed the entire exchange from her position under the tree, but chose not to interfere. It was something that Conner had to handle on his own, and trying to say something would have made his situation worse. That's not to say that she was in a position to do anything, anyways. She felt immobilized up until the point where Caroline approached and more or less diffused the situation. Then she was conscious of the further exchange between father and daughter going on right beside her. Before she knew it, tears were in her eyes; she was overwhelmed by the sensation of love and couldn't stop herself.

The moment was cut short when they noticed a flash of green off in the distance beyond the playground. They looked up to see a swirling Invisiportal dropping off a dozen Tyrannodrones along with what appeared to be a woman wearing black leather and holding a katana made of an intense blue metal. What happened in the next moment could only be described as chaos. Civilians—adults and children alike—were running for their lives away from the invaders and out of the park. Conner, heedless of the fact that he was surrounded by these bystanders lifted his bracelet up and pressed a button on it, saying, "Ethan, morph and get to the playground at the park; there's been an attack." He turned to Kira and calmly said, "Help get all the children that are still here to safety, then return to help Ethan. I'm running Caroline home. I'll be back to help soon."

Not even waiting for any kind of confirmation, he picked up his daughter and started running for home. He hadn't noticed anything around him, so it took the little girl he had supported by his arms to bring his notice to what was happening. She said, "Daddy, why is everyone moving so slow?"

Although he kept running, he looked around himself for a moment and saw what she saw: all the other terrified people moving in what seemed to be slow motion. His eyes drifted to the bracelet on his wrist, where his Dino Gem appeared to be glowing quite strongly. He chuckled between breaths and said, "I think daddy has more powers than he originally thought he had."

He soon arrived home and burst through the door. What felt like about five minutes to him was much closer to three in real time. He set her down in the living room, and seeing his parents still there, quickly said, "There's been an attack, I had to get Caroline out of there but I've got to go back. I promise to bring my team back with me afterwards." Before he could get a response, he was gone.

* * *

Conner sped back to the park, consciously activating his Dino Gem power this time, and morphed while still running as he neared the battlefield. Time returned to normal after the transformation, which told him that this power was civilian in nature and did not work with the actual Ranger form. Ethan had just waded into the crowd of 'drones and Kira had also just morphed, preparing to join Ethan. The park was devoid of anyone other than Rangers and villains, so there appeared to be no further danger to joining the fight.

Before he quite reached the edge of the fighting, Doctor Oliver's voice could be heard over the Morpher. _"It's time to use your individual weapons. They're located in your belts. You'll know what to do."_

They each concentrated on the buckle-looking object on their belts, which glowed for a moment, and out of thin air popped four separate implements: a red and white striped staff with a Tyranno Head for Conner, a blue shield with the look of a Triceratops for Ethan, and a pair of Ptera-like daggers for Kira. With these new weapons they ripped into the 'drones, with Conner intercepting the newcomer's katana.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Conner quipped.

She lashed out before answering. "My master calls me Elsa." She swiped a couple more times, which Conner blocked, before kicking out landing a solid blow to the Red Ranger's gut. Conner doubled over for a moment before recovering and renewing his attack.

"Oh yeah, well Mesogog's a freak." By this time, the 'drones had been wiped out and Kira and Ethan had begun advancing on the still ensuing combat.

Elsa saw her disadvantage and calculated her survival before activating the Invisiportal and shouting, "You haven't seen the last of me, Rangers; those gems will belong to Mesogog!" She reached a hand to the sky and disappeared into the portal, taking the beaten 'drones with her.

The three Rangers looked to each other and then around for observers before shouting, "Power Down!" Conner turned to his teammates and said, "Could you guys follow me home, please? I promised my mother I'd bring you guys when I dropped Caroline off…"

They nodded and soon found themselves walking at a brisk pace, Conner taking point and the others a step or two behind him. On the way, Conner spoke into his bracelet, saying, "Doc? Could you monitor us? If you can, I'd like you to teleport to the front door of my house when we arrive."

An answer piped through. _"Sure thing, Conner. See you there."_

The journey lapsed back into silence for several more minutes. Finally they reached his house, and in a flash of four colors, Dr. Oliver was suddenly standing in front of Conner's door. He nodded in greeting and stepped aside to let Conner open the door. Once he let them inside, he called out, "Mom, Dad, Eric, Caroline? I've brought company."

At the mention of his twin, Dr. Oliver glared at his Red Ranger, but Conner just shrugged and directed everyone into the living room where his family was waiting. They all found seats, Caroline shifting away from her spot between her grandparents and taking over her father's lap, Kira sitting next to Conner in the loveseat (_'Rather closely'_ Conner's mother noted), Doctor Oliver and Ethan taking separate chairs, while both of the older McKnight's and Eric sat on the couch.

Conner gestured to each of them in turn, saying, "This is Kira, Ethan, and my science teacher and mentor Dr. Oliver. Guys, these are my parents and my twin brother Eric. Eric goes to the Wind Ninja Academy in Blue Bay Harbor, which is why he hasn't been around school." Conner figured he'd answer the question that his friends were likely thinking of asking before they had the chance to ask it.

"Dude!" Eric hissed. "I wasn't even supposed to tell you guys, let alone complete strangers!"

Dr. Oliver stepped in to cover for Conner's not-quite blunder. "Actually, I already know about the Academy. I knew about their Rangers already, and Hayley and I have been in contact with Cam since I first heard about their team starting up."

Not just Eric's jaw dropped at this declaration; so too did his own Rangers' as well. Ethan managed to recover first, "You mean, Hayley is in on all this, and you never bothered to tell us?" Ethan had the good sense to mostly look hurt, rather than angry.

Their mentor ducked his head sheepishly and simply said, "Sorry, I forgot."

Caroline recalled Hayley from the day before and said, "I like Hayley. She gave me juice!" This declaration was met by a round of chuckles from the current and former Rangers in the room.

Conner's mother, however, looked concerned from this statement. She said, "Who exactly is this Hayley that offers juice to my granddaughter?"

"She owns this cybercafé just beyond the school." Conner answered. "It's something like a teen hangout. They have a bunch of public computers there, and they serve drinks like coffee, lattes, smoothies, and the like. I met the others there yesterday, and Hayley gave her some juice on the house."

"Hayley sounds nice." Eric chimed in. "I might have to check this place out before I go back."

"Doctor Oliver," Mr. McKnight injected, "what possessed you to make Rangers? My son tells me you're a veteran, or so it seems. Tell me, how is it that you are a veteran?"

"That's a long story, Mr. McKnight. I'll try to summarize, though." Tommy gave it a little thought and finally committed to what he wanted to say. "I move to Angel Grove as a Freshman in high school. Shortly after that, I was put under a spell by the villainess Rita Repulsa and forced to become her Evil Green Ranger. After several days of torturous imprisonment within that spell, the other Rangers managed to free me and I joined them. I was part of the original team of Earth's Power Rangers, and was the original Green Ranger. I eventually lost my powers and was then given a new set of powers, making me the first White Ranger. When Master Vile used the Orb of Doom to turn back time into a simulated past, our powers were destroyed, and five of us went on a quest to obtain the Zeo Crystals, which allowed us to fix time and restore everyone to the proper ages. It also gave us new powers, and I became the Red Zeo Ranger. When a new threat emerged in the form of the Space Pirate Divatox, yet newer, stronger powers were needed, so I traded up to become the Red Turbo Ranger. A couple of weeks after I graduated high school, I transferred my Turbo Powers to a new Red Ranger. If you know your Ranger History any, the name Theodore J. Jarvis Johnson should ring a bell. Before he was the Blue Space Ranger, he was my replacement as the Red Turbo Ranger."

"Wait, Doctor O.," Kira interrupted, "if the last set of powers you had were Turbo, how come you can still turn into the Red Zeo Ranger?"

Dr. Oliver laughed, "That one's easy. If you paid attention, I never said we lost the Zeo powers, just traded up for the Turbo ones. The Zeo powers never left us, and those of us who started with the Zeo powers still have them to this day."

"Final question, Doc: why did your teleport stream contain the color black if you've never been a Black Ranger?" Conner asked.

Tommy blinked in confusion at this one. It didn't make sense. "There was black in my teleport stream?"

"Yup," replied Ethan, "it was pretty clear. You had bits of Green, White, Red, and Black."

The doctor mused for a few seconds before saying, "I guess I'll have to have Hayley scan me when I get back to the Command Center."

The topic was interrupted by a low rumbling sound followed by giggling. Everyone's eyes turned to Conner, who blushed and said, "Well, it is about that time. Think we can get some dinner soon?" This time, the whole room laughed, even his own daughter. Conner would have wallowed in his own embarrassment had he not been really hungry.

Mrs. McKnight smiled warmly to her guests and said, "You're welcome to stay for supper. I usually cook far more than we five can eat, anyways, and three more shouldn't put a strain on things."

Ethan and Kira took turns calling home and acquiring permission to stay, and Conner went into the kitchen to help his mother with the cooking. She insisted he help her from time to time, as one day soon he'll be on his own and having to cook for himself and Caroline, so he darn well better learn now while he can.

* * *

The food was prepared quickly and the eight of them settled down for a meal filled with quiet conversation. When they were all finished, Kira finally decided to point out something that she noticed before but hadn't had the opportunity to ask about. "Doctor O., what's with that weird looking watch? I can't seem to find a way for it to tell time?"

If it had a watch face, it would have been silver in color, but the band was striped in green, white, and red. Their teacher lifted the device on his wrist a little higher so everyone could see and said, "This is one of the original communicators that we Rangers used back in the old days. It stopped working when the Power Chamber was destroyed many years ago, but Hayley rewired it to patch into our communication and teleportation networks. I try to wear it when I'm out of the house, in case I need to get back to the Command Center in a hurry." A six tone sound came from the device, which startled everyone in the room (except Caroline, who either didn't notice it or didn't care). Tommy simply stared at it for a moment before reaching up to hit the button for communication. Tentatively, he said, "Hello?"

"_Tommy!"_ Hayley's voice rang clear through the device. _"You forgot that it still played that sound when you're being paged, didn't you?"_ They could all hear the smirk on the other side of the line. Tommy had the good sense to blush at the accusation which was clearly correct to the others in the room. She continued, _"I hope I'm not interrupting your dinner with the McKnight's, but I need you back here. There's something we need to discuss about one of our recent discoveries."_

Dr. Oliver looked around the room and flashed a smile to everyone replying, "I'm on my way." He addressed his present company by saying, "Gotta go; duty calls." He stood up and stepped away from the table before raising the communicator back up and pressing the other button, thinking specifically of his own Command Center as he did it. In a show of four colorful lights, he disappeared from the McKnight home.

"I don't think I can get used to that." Conner's father said.

* * *

The dishes were handled and everyone had retired to the living room, where Conner's parents had proceeded to ask non-ranger related questions of their son's guests. After about an hour or so of conversation, a loud, sleepy yawn was emitted from the littlest one. Conner smiled and picked her up, cradling her against his shoulder. "Come on, sleepyhead," he said as he stood up, "I think it's a little past your bed time." Kira was focused on his actions in such a way that she inadvertently and unconsciously got up to follow him. No one said a word, though.

When they arrived in Caroline's room, Conner was slightly startled to see the beautiful Yellow Ranger right beside him. He smiled a half smile to her before setting his daughter down on the bed, causing another yawn to be issued from her. He withdrew some pajamas for her and proceeded to change her into them. Once properly dressed, she turned around and climbed into her bed. Conner reached down and tucked her in, and as he did the last night, kissed her forehead and told her, "I love you, princess; good night. I'll see you in the morning."

She smiled back up at him and yawned once more, saying, "Good night, daddy." Sleep came to her quickly and Conner directed Kira out of the room, turning off the light and nearly shutting the door behind him.

Once they got downstairs, Conner addressed his teammates. "Come on, I'll take you guys home." They said their goodbyes to the McKnight family and went outside, piling into Conner's car. The ride to their respective houses was filled with a comfortable silence. Ethan found yet more respect for his leader, getting a slight glimpse into his home life, and getting the chance to meet and get to know his closest family. Kira was still overwhelmed from the display in Caroline's room. The depth of the Red Ranger's affection and love was staggering, and never before had she met anyone like him. He dropped them each off, waving to them and saying their goodnights to each other, before heading home himself. Soon after arriving, he excused himself to his bedroom before changing and going to bed himself. A peaceful sleep drifted over him for the first time in years.

* * *

After Conner left, Eric went to bed himself, feeling a little overwhelmed from what all had happened that day. Conner's parents remained seated in the living room, contemplating what all they learned and saw that night. Mrs. McKnight broke the silence first. "They're good kids, and I think Dr. Oliver is a stronger asset than they even realize. I was already convinced of this before, but now even more."

Mr. McKnight sighed. He knew she was right. Whatever misgivings he still had from before had all but melted away after spending the evening with the people his son was going to working with day after day. He turned his attention to another sight he'd seen that night. "I don't think you need to worry about Caroline not having a role model anymore. She already seems to be attached to Kira. From the look in our son's eyes, I think he may be on his way to healing his heart, soon, too."

That thought brought a warm happiness to her. She wanted her son to move on. She'd seen him grieve for three years now, and it broke her heart to see him act the way he had all that time. Even though the circumstances were unusual, she wasn't going to complain if he was able to become a better man because of this. Her husband wrapped his arms around her and she leaned into him, content that this night turned out as well as it had.

* * *

Doctor Tommy Oliver once again sat in his study working on his personal computer. He was preparing to shut down for the night and had reached the final phase of his routine: checking his email. He logged into the account and found three new messages, all in reply to his latest news. He chuckled at the names: Jason, Kimberly, and Billy. It figures the three matching dinos would answer first. He started with Jason's.

[From: Scott, Jason

To: Oliver, Thomas

Subject: RE: I've done it

Body: Hey Bro,

You're really something, you know that? What's next? You gonna become a Ranger again, Mr. Legendary? I kid. But seriously, there's a pool going around on what your next color is going to be. I've got money on Orange myself. I will not be happy if I lose.

Sounds like a handful. I'd say you know how to pick 'em, but it looks like you didn't pick 'em. I hope you know what you're doing, what with the one with the kid. Sounds cute, though. I bet you've already told her to call you Uncle Tommy, haven't you?

I think I might take you up on that offer for a visit. Maybe get all the original dinos together for a family reunion (with the rookies too). I think I'll start making some calls right now…

I felt you using your Zeo powers, man. Cut that out before I have to hurt you! You know it's not as strong without the others working with it, or at least enough Red Rangers to supplement the power.

Anyways, catch ya later, Bro.

The ORIGINAL Leader of the Power Rangers,

Jason Lee Scott]

Tommy simply shook his head. He's still sore about that whole stealing his leadership thing? Jason had a good idea, though. He'll probably call with the details by Saturday. Next email…

[From: Cranston, William

To: Oliver, Thomas

Subject: Congratulations

Body: Salutations Tommy,

While I commend you for creating a new team, I should remind you that Hayley did most of the work, and all you really did was supply the Gems and draw up designs. Had it not been for her, you'd have probably called me up and forced me to do everything for you.

Okay, I'm joking. Or maybe I'm not. I actually wouldn't put it past you if you were determined to do it.

I got a call from Jason this morning. He said something about organizing a party for the originals in your basement. Is he serious? I'll admit, I wouldn't mind meeting the newest incarnation of the Tricera Ranger. It sounds like he could use my sage advice. I've already informed Jason that I'm in.

I look forward to our next encounter.

By the Power, Billy Cranston]

Tommy rolled his eyes at Billy's comments. What, just because he forgot to mention Hayley in the email, he deserves that? _'Wait, did Jason really word it as 'a party in my basement?''_ Tommy shook his head once again. Last email…

[From: Hart, Kimberly

To: Oliver, Thomas

Subject: You better not disappoint me

Body: 'Sup Handsome,

I'm in for your next color to be Pink. If I lose, it's coming outta your pocket.

You made the Pterodactyl a Yellow? What, couldn't handle seeing a flying pink zord over Reefside?

Okay, I'll stop teasing.

It sounds like you've managed to round up quite a crowd of Rangers. If no one else has said it, at least know that I'm proud of you for doing this. I'm certainly not surprised that you're the one to wind up mentoring a new team. You couldn't escape the power with a pair of those fake moustache glasses.

Okay, seriously going to stop the teasing.

I got a message from Jason today; something about a shindig in Reefside. I think he wants to make it a week long, though. I'll have to see about getting some vacation time. A week with you? Sounds like a dream come true. Oh, and I can't wait to hear that Yellow of yours sing.

May the Power Always Protect you,

Kimberly Anne Hart]

Tommy simply stared at the message for a moment. She seriously thinks he's going to be a Pink Ranger next? She seriously thinks he's going to pay for it when he's not? Oh, she's going to get it when she arrives for that shindig. _'Wait… did Jason really call it a shindig? Jason is really, really weird.'_

Tommy put his computer to sleep once again and finished out his evening ritual. It had been a long, full day, and he regarded the object now adorning his left wrist. It was currently powerless, but he knew it was only a matter of time. Funny, he wouldn't have known it was supposed to be for him had they not told him about his teleport stream…


	4. Just a Feeling

**Author's Notes**: I am quite pleased to see people enjoying the direction I'm taking this fic. As for Cassidy, well, she's misinformed and still in "reporter mode." Plus you must remember that this is an unchanged Cassidy, with no influence from unknowingly being around and learning from the Rangers for eight months; she's allowed to be this way. One thing you might have noticed is that we don't even have zords yet. Oh, and Tommy doesn't know Anton Mercer could possibly still be alive, as he hasn't visited the museum yet (no detention, remember?). This highly changes events. Since Dr. Oliver doesn't know of the existence of Dr. Mercer (yet), Mesogog isn't moving as quickly as he could be. This will mean that many several things that happened in the series will happen out-of-order, or some objects may be found by the opposite side first, rather than the ones that actually found them in canon series.

Don't you just love AU? (also, I've apparently fallen in love with semicolons…) Additional note: you will never, ever see song lyrics of any kind in my story. As much as I love music (Meat Loaf, Peter Gabriel, and Billy Joel have fueled this fic so far), I have no talent for knowing what music goes with what situations, nor could I write my own for anything. Oh, and sorry about the cliffhanger, but I felt like being super duper evil today.

**Disclaimer**: Power Rangers is owned by Saban. Power Rangers Dino Thunder was owned by Disney at the time. I only own the words and the story itself. Oh, and any mentions of Caroline, Jessica, Josh (Will he return? Or did he conveniently jump off an exploding island?), and now Greg and Matthew (where the heck did I come up with these names?) are mine.

* * *

Eighteen year old Conner McKnight opened his eyes and found himself at peace. He was sitting in the loveseat in his home, his arm around Jessica of whom was leaning into his side, and between them was their three year old daughter Caroline. Utterly content with this, Conner closed his eyes, smiled, and sighed.

The moment was broken when a soft voice from his side spoke. "While this is nice, Conner, you know this isn't right."

Conner once again opened his eyes to find Jessica now leaning away from him, his arm still around her. He said, "What do you mean?"

She turned towards him and said, "This. All of this. I'm not here anymore, and you know that…"

"But Jess…"

"No, Conner," she stood up from the seat. Conner, feeling the sudden emptiness, automatically picked Caroline up and pulled her into his lap, hugging her to himself. "It's like Dr. Oliver says, you never forget your first love; but I can't be here for you, or for her. It's not right for you to hang onto me like this. You have Caroline, so you'll always have a piece of me, but for both of your sakes, you have to move on…"

"Jessica…" Conner's voice was wavering slightly, not wanting to hear any of this. He said, "Why, Jess? Why did you leave me like that?"

Now Jessica turned away from him, refusing to look at him. She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "You never knew this, but I was never in the best of health. When I found out I was pregnant, I probably shouldn't have chosen to carry her… As it stood, the exertion from the birth was too much for my body to handle…"

Conner didn't answer this, but simply stared away guiltily. He already felt it was his fault that she died, and this admission from her certainly didn't make him feel any better. She noticed this and quickly said, "It's not your fault, Conner. I chose not to tell you about my health problems, and you never had the chance to notice them. Stop blaming yourself. Let go of your grief and your guilt, it's only holding you back from you being yourself."

She kneeled down to look him straight in the eye and said, "You need someone who can actually stand by your side and Caroline needs a mother. Fortunately, you already have someone who is willing to be both the wife and the mother I wasn't able to be…"

Jessica faded away, and Conner's friend and teammate Kira Ford now stood in her place. Conner looked up into her face with tears in his eyes, saying, "Kira…"

Jessica's voice sounded from a direction that Conner couldn't identify. "Please Conner, for all of our sakes, move forward with your life. Stop clinging to a memory and start enjoying your life. You're finally making a difference, but it's not enough. Please promise me you'll stop the suffering from the last three years and be more like your old fun self. Please?"

Conner lowered his eyes to the little girl sitting in his lap. She was staring up at him, appearing to anticipate his answer. He began openly crying, and continued for several minutes before managing to whisper, "I promise…"

* * *

Conner gently awoke to the faint light of sunrise that Friday morning. He felt dampness on his pillow, and when he opened his eyes he found them to be clouded by his still falling tears. He rubbed at his eyes to clear them and looked over to his clock; 6:45 AM. It was a little earlier than he usually got up, but he felt more well-rested and energized than he had in over three years. He could remember every moment of the dream…

'_Not dream,'_ Conner thought, _'it felt too real to be a simple dream.'_ No, it was more of a vision; a message. Jessica wanted Conner to be happy and to live his life to the fullest, and it took a message from beyond to get that through his thick skull. He got up from his bed and felt as if a physical weight had been taken off of his chest. Today was going to be a great day, he just knew it.

He went down to the kitchen and decided to make breakfast for everyone. He dug out three skillets; one for eggs, one for sausage, and one for pancakes. He knew the smell of his cooking would likely wake the rest of his family, so he wasted no time getting it all prepared. All four of the other McKnight's came down to the kitchen as Conner was piling three separate plates with the fixin's that he just finished making.

The family stood and stared for a second before Conner said, "Well if you're not hungry, I guess I'll just eat all of this…" That got them moving; they started filling their plates with what they wanted of what he made. Caroline stared at the stack of pancakes for a moment before Conner said, "You can have a couple of pancakes with syrup if you first get through an egg and a piece of sausage." Caroline grinned and jumped into a seat where a plate with aforementioned food was already awaiting her. She didn't usually eat much, but she always seems to find room for pancakes when they have them. Fortunately she has her father's metabolism and isn't fazed by the influx of sugar associated with such food.

Breakfast was an enjoyable affair. Conner didn't mention his 'dream' to anybody, deciding that that was a little too private to be openly sharing. Once everyone was finished and the dishes were washed up, he proceeded to get himself ready for school. Once he was dressed and ready, he met his daughter and mother in the living room. Bending down to Caroline, he said, "You ready for Kira's concert tonight?"

She bobbed her head up and down enthusiastically. His mother asked, "What time is she scheduled for?"

"Seven. Not too late for this one to stay out, is it?"

She shook her head, "Not a problem. You'd better go now if you expect to pick your friends up for school."

Conner picked Caroline up in a big hug and said, "I'll be home right after school; Kira will probably need a little time with her band to practice before tonight. See you then sweetie."

"Bye, daddy!"

Conner left the house and headed out to his car. The trip out to Ethan's house was short; Ethan looked tired and climbed into the back in order to stretch out. When Conner noticed this, he replied, "Was on a roll… had to get to level 30…" He promptly nodded off. Conner decided to leave him be.

He arrived to Kira's house a short time later; she was waiting on the front porch, fidgeting in apparent excitement. She was dressed ever so slightly different than usual… perhaps a little more makeup and a different style of skirt than she would typically be seen in. Conner, for his part, took notice of her appearance for the first time since actually meeting her; he stared after her as she approached the car, and had to catch himself before she noticed. Had he been paying closer attention, he would have noticed that her smile had brightened even more just before entering the vehicle with her books and guitar in hand. Once she was situated in the front seat, Conner once again found himself to be looking towards her and not making any move to back out of her driveway. Kira turned a concerned eye to him and said, "Are you okay there, Con?"

Conner blinked a few times before replying, "Um, yes." He blushed and averted his gaze before continuing, "You look beautiful…"

She smiled back appreciatively and said, "Thank you. I'm probably going to be practicing right up until the concert starts, so I figured I'd save myself the trouble of having to go home to change."

Conner nodded in understanding and returned his attention to his car, backing up and driving off towards the school. The trip was accomplished in relative silence due to the sleeping Ethan in the back. Once they were in the school parking lot, Conner turned around and shook Ethan's shoulders to rouse him and the three of them proceeded in to their first class of the day.

They were once again the first into Doctor Oliver's science class, so they took their seats and started having some quiet conversation. Other students making their way in as time ticked on; the funny looks they sent Conner's way were promptly ignored by the former soccer star. When Cassidy strolled in, they took notice for the first time the creature that constantly was tailing her with his video camera in hand: Devin Del Valle followed behind her obediently, but appeared to throw an apologetic look towards Conner and his friends before taking his seat next to Cassidy. Conner furrowed his brow at this, but before he could satisfy his curiosity, the late bell rung out and Dr. Oliver came striding into the classroom.

Dr. Oliver appeared to be both anxious and excited, but did well in hiding it from his students; all but three of them, of course. They were curious, but with everything else that was going on that day, chose not to pursue him after class to discover what was going on.

* * *

Their classes went by in a more or less normal fashion. Conner still had to endure the mean looks and comments from some of his classmates, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been the day before; apparently most of the student body had already moved on to another poor soul to torment. It was when it came time for their lunch period that things changed somewhat. The Rangers had sat down together at a table, and were promptly joined by a Cassidy-less Devin. They looked at him funny before he said, "Oh, uh, I just want to apologize for what Cassidy said yesterday… It was uncalled for. I tried to tell her not to but she didn't listen to me…"

Conner gave him a weak smile before shaking his head and saying, "Don't worry about it. I'm not going to let anything she or anyone else says bother me anymore."

Devin looked apprehensive for a moment before deciding to continue on, "Still, though, it's got to be hard hearing it from everyone like that. I'm curious what the story behind all this is, but it's not my business so I'm not going to pry…"

A thought occurred to Kira suddenly and she said, "Conner, if everyone knew the truth, you probably wouldn't have to deal with them anymore."

Conner shook his head again. "I don't think I can tell the story again… not again, so soon…"

"Then don't. I'll do it for you."

Conner looked at her incredulously for a moment before realizing she was absolutely serious. He gave it a moment of thought before internally agreeing with her logic. An issue was raised in his mind, though. "Okay, but how are you going to get the word out?"

Devin piped up, "I have an idea…"

* * *

"Seriously?" Conner asked. "Get Cassidy to spread the word? And how do you suppose we get her to actually listen to and tell the truth?"

"Just promise her an exclusive…" Devin started.

"…and I'll make sure she leaves nothing out and doesn't embellish." Kira finished.

Conner mulled the thought for a few moments before finally consenting. "Alright. Go with it."

Kira nodded and got up from the table, following Devin to where Cassidy was sitting. Cassidy sneered in their direction before asking, "What's she doing here? Why'd you bring her?" Kira was certain that internally Cassidy was thinking 'she's not one of us.'

Kira simply smiled at her and said, "How would like an exclusive story to spread around?"

Cassidy's eyes widened in surprise; this girl was the last person she ever expected to want some gossip spread. "You have my attention." She said.

"I know the whole story about Conner and his little girl. You do want this story, right?"

Cassidy's expression neutralized as she realized something was off about this request. "And what, pray tell, is the catch?"

"Oh there's no catch… You just have to retell it exactly the way you hear it. The absolute truth needs to be spread to everybody who will listen by the end of the day. You will not leave anything out, nor will you exaggerate or embellish in any way, shape, or form." Kira was satisfied with the look on Cassidy's face, leaned really close to said face, and promptly continued in a dangerous whisper. "If you don't do exactly as I say, you are going to have an extremely pissed off Kira Ford after you, and believe me, that's something you don't want."

Cassidy gulped and nodded. Devin looked quite pleased at what just transpired. He said, "We should probably go somewhere in private for this interview, Cass. Maybe someplace outside?"

They agreed and filed out to a remote location still on the high school's campus. Devin got out his video camera while Cassidy got a small notebook and pen out. Kira launched into the story, telling as much of it as Conner has told to her in the last week. By the end of the lunch period, the story was prepared. They all went to their separate classes, and the web of gossip around the school was set ablaze as a new story broke ground. By the end of the day, the student body in general seemed to be more sympathetic towards Conner, a few even offering him condolences. He would simply thank them and move on, trying not to dwell on it more than he had to.

With the school day ended, the Rangers met in front of the school. Kira waved to them and said, "Well, I'm out. I've got to get to practice right now, as I've got a couple of songs we've either never played before, or haven't practiced much with. See you tonight!"

Once she had left, Conner turned to his remaining companion and asked him, "Need to be taken anywhere?"

Ethan shook his head, saying, "Nope. I've got Computer Club today. I just figured I'd come out here to see the two of you off. You bringing Caroline with you tonight?"

"Yup. She's just as excited about the concert as the rest of us are. Even the Doc said he'd be there."

They parted ways and Conner headed out to his car.

* * *

Kira arrived to the usual practice spot for her band. There were only the three of them: Kira on her guitar, Greg on backup guitar, and Matthew on the drums. She was greeted by slightly annoyed expressions, which ever so slightly confused her. She asked, "What's up, guys?"

Greg spoke first, "Oh, I don't know… maybe because this is our first practice session all week and we have a concert in three hours?"

Matthew's expression softened after hearing the harshness of Greg's tone. He said, "Now now, Greg, she said she was busy the rest of the week, and she didn't even know we would be handed a concert venue until Wednesday."

"Still, that doesn't excuse it!"

Kira looked a little sheepish and reluctantly entered the conversation by saying, "I guess now's a bad time to mention that I've got a new song I want to do for tonight?"

Despite the negative feeling to start their practice, they managed to get through all five songs that she wanted to do that night to their satisfaction. With about half an hour left before 7 PM, they left and made their way to the cybercafé.

* * *

There was a decently larger crowd at the café than usual for a Friday evening. Hayley was pleased with the turnout, as sit meant higher income for her. Unfortunately, she hadn't hired any employees to help her yet, so it was going to be a busy night keeping all of these people refreshed. She regretted scheduling that interview for tomorrow morning.

Sitting along the wall right of the stage were Kira's parents. They, too, appeared to be excited for their daughter's first concert. At the table right at the front of the crowd sat three people that Hayley noted to herself she really needed to speak with after this was done. While she already knew Ethan quite well, since he was a regular of her establishment, she only had a single chance encounter with Conner and Caroline that first time they came in on Wednesday. Her first impression of him was a good one, though she was concerned about him, as when she mentioned the Waves open tryouts, he just shrugged it off and proceeded with his daughter's order for juice. All of her information pointed to him being quite a good soccer player, so why he would ignore a chance like that, she couldn't figure it out.

Kira and her bandmates appeared through the door with about ten minutes to spare. She froze when she saw the crowd, completely stunned that so many people would want to listen to her music. She spotted where her parents were and made her way over to them; the others went up onto the stage to set up.

After receiving hugs from them both, Kira said, "I'm glad you guys could make it."

Kira's mother smiled to her and replied, "Of course, dear. We couldn't miss this for anything."

Kira was then set upon by a force hugging at her legs. She looked down to find a certain little girl grinning up at her and clinging to her tightly. Kira laughed softly before saying, "Hi Caroline. You ready to hear me sing?"

She nodded forcefully before being pulled off of the older girl by her father. Conner shook his head and said, "Sorry, I tried to stop her, but she squirmed away. She's really excited… I think we all are."

Kira shrugged in response and said, "It's okay, Conner. I'll always have time for my littlest fan."

Kira's parents caught the name and her father said, "So this is Conner… and his sister?"

Before Kira could answer, Conner spoke first, "No sir, Caroline's my daughter. It's a… well, you can ask Kira later for the story. It's not a memory I want to have to revisit for a long time if I can help it…"

They noted his painful expression and the sorrow in his voice and chose not to press it right now. Kira looked at the time and gasped; it was only two minutes until the concert was supposed to start! She excused herself and got up to the stage. Hayley was already up there and was just announcing Kira, to the applause of the whole house. Kira got up there and thanked Hayley and the crowd. She scanned it and found her partners in crime fighting right up front. Several classmates were in the crowd, as well as some of the regulars for the café. In the back at the counter was sitting Doctor Oliver; he appeared to have calmed down considerably from what he was feeling that morning.

She launched into her first song, relishing the feeling of performing for a large group. When the song finished, there was resounding applause, and she could feel the waves coming off of everyone. It was mostly pleasure and adoration, though there was disgust laced in there from a few of the patrons. Knowing she couldn't please everyone, she proceeded into her next song. Once again, the feeling was a rush, and this time, when the song was over, the feeling was overwhelming. She knew this would affect her performance, so she started concentrating on a single target: Conner. It was still overwhelming, but manageable now. The next two songs were newer than the other two, but had still been practiced once or twice before today. When she got to the last song, there was a little apprehension, since it was just finished on Thursday. She said as much when introducing it, and in the middle of playing it, Conner made the connection: This was the song she was writing when he arrived to the park! That's when he realized exactly what inspiration she got for this song…

It was over soon, which meant the concert itself was over as well. Kira looked over the crowd, smiling to each and every one of them. She closed her eyes and inclined her head; opening all of her senses, she basked in the glow for several seconds. Moments later, she excused herself to where her parents and friends were waiting. She hugged each of them in turn (getting a double hug from Conner and Caroline together, since he was holding her at the time). They all found seats together by pushing a couple of tables together. Hayley handed Kira a bottle of water and took orders from everyone else at the table.

Once they were all situated with their drinks, Kira finally got around to introducing everyone. "Mom, dad, these are my friends Ethan, Conner, and Conner's daughter, Caroline. Guys, these are my parents."

They exchanged greetings amongst each other. Kira's mother decided to open the conversation. "So, how is it that the three of you decided to become friends all of a sudden? I don't seem to recall any of you associating with each other before this year…"

The three Rangers looked between each other, as if trying to decide on an answer. Before getting the chance to, though, Caroline bounced excitedly and said, "Uncle Tommy, Uncle Tommy!" She leapt off of Conner's lap and ran off to Dr. Oliver, whom she had just seen over at the counter. He was surprised and picked her up, looking over to Conner, who just shrugged back at him in response.

Single eyebrows were raised by each of Kira's parents at this, to which Conner said, "Ah, that's kind of how we became friends. Dr. Oliver offered us some after school activities which may help us with scholarship applications and I wound up brining Caroline with me. He told her to call him that."

They nodded at this, but the expression on their faces made it seem that they were not quite convinced. Kira's mother leaned over to her and whispered, "Have you told them?"

Kira shook her head and whispered back, "Not yet. I almost told Conner yesterday, but I got interrupted."

Her mother frowned at this last statement and didn't even bother to whisper in return, "We'll talk later."

Conner looked a little confused after the silent exchange, though when he looked to Ethan, he simply shrugged back to him. Kira's father revived the conversation. "So, what do you two do in your spare time?"

The Rangers smirked to each other for a half second before erasing their expressions and attempting to cover it. Ethan responded first, "I mostly just hang out here. I'm really into computers and games, and you get both of those here… plus, Hayley's smoothies are delicious." He punctuated this statement by taking a long sip from his own drink.

Conner took a moment before answering himself. "I used to play soccer on the school team. I haven't actually finalized my decision to quit, though. A part of me wants to go back to it, but another part of me is telling me to stick to my schoolwork. Then there's Caroline…" He didn't look too sure about saying his next statement, but encouraging looks from his teammates and expectant ones from her parents pushed him forward. "I haven't been the best father to her for the last three years because of what happened. I've decided not to let that get in the way of my responsibility anymore. This mostly means that I'll be taking her place more often, rather than only being her father when I'm at home as I've been playing at."

While they didn't know the story yet, they at least nodded in understanding. Their attention was diverted when the towering personality known as Doctor Tommy Oliver was found standing over the table, a bundle of three-year-old apparently asleep in his arms. He said, "I think the excitement was a little too much for her tonight."

Conner smiled back appreciatively and received his daughter. Turning back to the others, he said, "I guess it's time for me to say goodbye. It's was nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Ford. Ethan, Kira, I'll see you both tomorrow. 'Night guys."

They all said their goodnights to him and watched him leave the establishment. Dr. Oliver turned back to the remaining people and said, "I should be going, too. There's a dig site that I'm going to in the morning… Apparently there's a cache of _gemstones_ to be found. Not valuable ones, mind you, but they could be of importance to scientists like me."

He excused himself and the two remaining Rangers looked at each other in a mix of confusion and enthusiasm. They caught the inference from the mention of gemstones; did Dr. Oliver find another Dino Gem?

Kira's parents looked to each other and made a decision themselves. Mrs. Ford turned to her daughter and said, "Well we're going to go home. Did you want to come with us?" Kira nodded in response, so her mother turned to face Ethan and continued, "Do you need a ride home, dear?"

Ethan shook his head and said, "No, I think I'll hang around here for awhile longer. I actually wanted to talk to Hayley a little before leaving…"

They left a little money on the table and the three of them got up to leave. Kira was a little confused about the way her mother said they would talk later, but pushed the feeling away. There had to be a good reason that her mother was not pleased with her having been about to tell Conner about her 'gift.'

* * *

Kira and her parents arrived to their home a short time after leaving Hayley's Cyberspace Café. Kira collapsed into a chair in the living room, but her mother was standing across from her with her hands on her hips. Furrowing her brow, Kira asked, "What's wrong, mom?"

Her mother pursed her lips before answering. "You've always said that you'd never tell anyone. What makes Conner so special that you would change your mind?"

Kira blinked a couple of times. That's all she's upset about? "Mom, I don't need a particular reason to tell anyone if I want to. I'll tell both of them in time, but I think Conner really needs to know sooner rather than later."

"And why would that be?"

"Well, for one thing, I already know he's attracted to me, and before this morning, he had a deep fear holding that attraction at bay. This morning it seemed to have been released, but he's pulling a shy boy act on me… a little unusual due to his personality from the last three years, but it seems the real Conner is finally on display this year, so I'm not going to complain. Anyways, I suppose I'm starting to like him in return, but it won't be fair to him if I don't tell him soon."

Her father walked into the room and took a seat on the couch. He beckoned to his wife and she sat next to him and leaned back. He motioned to his daughter and said, "Besides that, what's the story behind Conner and Caroline? He told us to get the story from you, so I suppose you know the deal."

Kira took a steadying breath and recounted the tale to them. As expected, they looked a mix of surprise, disappointment, and sympathetic. Mrs. Ford recovered first and said, "Okay… I get Conner now. He should have known better at the time, but it at least seems that he's doing the right thing now by being responsible for his situation. Now, I have a question… are you sure you like Conner for who he is? Or is it more of a sympathy thing for his situation?"

Kira pondered this for a moment before answering. "Definitely not sympathy. I've seen and felt his interactions with his daughter; he doesn't need help to take care of her, plus his parents have been helping him for the last three years. No, I've seen the real Conner McKnight and like him for who he really is: a responsible adult, a respectable father, and a really good friend. If I want to pursue any kind of a relationship with him, I'll need to tell him everything there is to know about me, from my music, to my 'gift,' even to the fact that I'm adopted. Nobody knows that either, you know."

The conversation was cut by a growl from Kira's stomach. Her mother chuckled and said, 'I bet you haven't eaten since lunch. Come on, I'll make you a snack. By then I'm sure the performance exhilaration will have worn out and you'll be ready to pass out…"

And so it did as she said. Soon after eating, Kira managed to fall asleep in her seat in the living room. They retrieved a blanket for her and turned out the light, choosing to go to bed themselves.

* * *

Kira and her parents had left Hayley's, leaving Ethan alone at the table. There were very few patrons left at the café, so he decided that it was time to have a long conversation with the proprietress about what she knew.

He found her wiping down one of the table that was off to the side. He took a seat at the table and wordlessly motioned for her to sit too. She smiled appreciatively to him and sat down. He opened conversation with a question. "So, what's the deal with you, us, and Dr. Oliver? He apparently conveniently forgot to tell us some things…"

She laughed at the interpretation, saying, "That's not convenient memory so much as he has retention problems when it comes to his memory. I've been told in conversations with some of his _older_ friends that his memory was actually much worse when he was in high school doing the same thing you're doing now." His expression was pure disbelief, which made Hayley giggle on the inside. "As for the rest of it, well… for one thing, without me, you wouldn't have morphers in order to transform. Half of the Command Center was my doing, as well. Needless to say, you're going to be seeing much more of me as the attacks increase in intensity. Now, my turn to ask you a question… How did you know Conner was under the mask that first night?"

Ethan blinked and actually appeared to be starting to sweat a little. He shrugged and said, "Lucky guess?"

Hayley shook her head and said, "No way, you're not copping out that easily. Now, the truth, what happened that let you almost see right through him?"

He sighed resignedly and said, "Well, you see…"


	5. Training Day

**Author's Notes**: Congratulations to fanficrulez for figuring it out. You're the only person who even really ventured a guess as to what was really going on with Kira. As for the rest of you, I hope you appreciate the twists I chose to inject into this chapter. Many things happened! Unfortunately, it cuts off rather abruptly, but I couldn't think of anywhere else for it to go to by this point. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys it, and please feel free to leave any comments and criticisms in the review box!

**Disclaimer**: Power Rangers is owned by Saban. Power Rangers Dino Thunder was owned by Disney at the time. I only own the story and the words, and Caroline.

* * *

It was early Saturday morning, and all was still in the Oliver household. This was mostly due to Tommy Oliver himself being sound asleep and the figure standing over his bed being careful to remain motionless and soundless as he observed the former in his slumber. He looked at the alarm clock next to the bed: 6:58 AM; not too early to be up, right? Slowly, the intruder leaned down until he was mere centimeters away from Dr. Oliver's ear. Taking a deep breath, he said, "So this is what a washed up Ranger looks like when he sleeps."

Tommy was awoken by the voice, but hadn't managed to connect it to a face or name in his just-woken-up state. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Jason Lee Scott. He promptly screamed and tried to back away from him while still lying there. Jason fell backwards at the reaction, laughing the whole way.

Tommy sat up in his bed and took a moment to regain his composure. Finally, he shouted, "What the hell are you doing? How'd you get in here?"

Jason continued laughing as he got up and answered. "Bro, you don't lock your doors. I just walked in and figured I'd give you a wakeup call."

Tommy shook his head and looked at the time. He sighed and said, "Well, I guess I had some things to look into this morning anyways." He looked up at his best friend and grinned. "Good thing you're here, bro, 'cause you're coming with me!"

* * *

He was sleeping peacefully. After the pseudo-dream he had the night before, he had felt a calm over himself that was completely foreign to him for so long, and so he was reveling in it. Unfortunately, his peace was to be invaded by a sudden jumping onto his bed.

Conner McKnight open one eye enough to see his daughter Caroline grinning at him. Once it was apparent he was awake she giggled and said, "Wake up daddy! We're going to Uncle Tommy's today, right?"

Conner shut his eye for a moment before resigning to the inevitable. He opened them both back up and sat up, picking up the little girl and slinging her over his shoulder. He said, "Well if that's the case, I guess we'd better get going, then?"

He made his way down to the living room and flung her into the couch, where she landed softly on the cushions. His mother walked in from the kitchen and said, "And where do you think you two are going this morning?"

Before Conner could answer, Caroline shouted, "We're going to Uncle Tommy's for training!"

Mrs. McKnight put her hands on her hips and glared at Conner, saying, "You don't think you're going to be training this little girl to fight, now, do you?"

Conner held his hands up in surrender. He said, "No, no… I kinda promised her she could come with me to watch."

The glare had softened, but the hands remained firmly in place. Finally, she sighed and said, "Just be careful out there, okay? Don't do anything that would lead you into more danger than you can handle." She started to turn back to walk into the kitchen before she remembered something and said, "You need some breakfast before you go?"

Conner called back to her and said, "Nope, we're meeting the others at Hayley's and getting a small breakfast there. We'll leave for Dr. Oliver's after that."

"Alright," came the response, "you two have fun out there, then. Let me know if you'll be home for dinner, alright?"

"Got it, mom." Conner turned to where his daughter was sitting up on the couch and said, "You get dressed. We'll probably be outside most of the time, so keep that in mind. I've gotta get a shower, so be ready when I come downstairs, okay?"

She nodded in reply and Conner made his way to get himself ready for the day. By 7:45, they were on their way to Hayley's, feeling prepared for just about anything the day could throw their way.

* * *

Jason wasn't sure how he'd gotten himself in the situation. He was standing in the middle of what he'd describe as a mud pit, holding a device that he had no idea what it did, looking for something that according to Tommy was only about two centimeters in diameter and would likely be blending into its surroundings. Tommy himself was holding a similar device, and seemed to be absorbed in the readings he was getting. He heard Tommy yell, "Got anything yet?"

Jason looked at the object in his hands. He looked back up at Tommy and said, "I, uh… I don't think so…" He turned in place and suddenly the device started beeping at him. He shouted, "Scratch that, this thing's wigging out on me."

Tommy jogged over to where Jason was standing and looked at the display. Sure enough, a reading was being taken, and appeared to be coming from only a few meters away. They started walking towards it until the pinging was very quick and intense, apparently signifying that they were right overtop of whatever was causing the reading. He motioned for Jason to stay standing right there and took the device out of his hands, running back to his Jeep and exchanging them for two shovels. Once he returned, he handed Jason a shovel and said, "We dig around this area, it shouldn't be too far down due the reading we got. We'll know when we find it, as it'll probably be glowing."

Jason just shrugged and started digging alongside his best friend. After about five minutes, his shovel hit something much harder than the soil he had been encountering up until then. He said, "I think I've got something…"

Tommy stopped digging and bent down to observe the object Jason had just found. It was a large black rock, about 30 centimeters in length. He grabbed at it and felt something of a pulse from it. Staring at the find, he said, "This is it. It's inside here. We need to get this back to the Command Center before it's discovered we've found it." He looked up at his friend and said, "Let's go!"

Jason hadn't heard Tommy's Leader Voice since his days as the Gold Zeo Ranger, but he knew well enough to follow the order when it came. They broke into sprints and buckled themselves into Tommy's Jeep, speeding away almost as soon as they made it.

* * *

Kira Ford and Ethan James were seated at their usual table in Hayley's Cyberspace Café. They had ordered some muffins and hot chocolate while they waited for their leader. Minutes later Conner and Caroline strode into the establishment and, upon seeing the others, took seats with them. Kira cocked her head to the side and indicated in Caroline's direction, to which Conner replied, "I promised she could watch us train today."

They "ah'd" and nodded. Hayley approached the table and asked them, "What can I get the two of you? We're having a special on our muffins this morning…"

Conner looked to his daughter and said, "We'll take two blueberry muffins and hot chocolates, please."

Hayley nodded and said, "Coming right up." She returned in moments with the order and they happily ate in silence; Hayley had walked in the back to take care of some things. Once they were more or less finished, a sudden wave came over the three Rangers. They held their heads for a moment before it more or less passed, but a feeling of menace lingered in the air around them; it felt like a weight was being pressed into their chests.

The door to the café opened and a figure in white strode in and looked around. He spotted the four of them sitting at the table and walked over to them. Smiling, he asked, "I'm looking for Hayley? She said for me to come in for an interview…"

Kira and Ethan still appeared to be paralyzed by the feeling, so Conner found it in him to shake off the feeling enough to answer. "She's in the back."

The boy nodded and said, "Thanks. I'm Trent; Trent Fernandez." He held his hand out.

Conner looked at it warily and said, "Conner McKnight." He grasped the newcomers hand and shook it. A moment similar to the one he shared with Ethan on Monday morning washed over Conner and he let go of his hand. He gestured to the others and introduced them. "These are Kira Ford, Ethan James, and this little one is my daughter, Caroline McKnight." Upon mentioning Caroline, another wave washed over the three of them and Kira audibly squeaked. Conner and Trent looked at her funny for a second.

Finally, Trent said, "I should go find Hayley and do this interview. I start in to classes on Monday at the High School; maybe I'll see you there?" They nodded and he left them, going into the back to hunt down Hayley.

The feeling died down a little, and Kira looked up at her teammates, saying, "Okay, that was weird. Was that another destiny?"

Conner nodded and said, "I think it was. Something's not right about that Trent kid. It wasn't your normal destiny, like I felt with the two of you. I don't like where this is going…"

"We should tell Doctor O. about this during training today." Ethan added. He looked at the clock and said, "Speaking of training, it starts in a half an hour. We should probably get going."

They stood up from the table and left some money for their orders, and the four of them walked out to Conner's car, where they made their way to Dr. Oliver's house.

* * *

When they arrived to the house, the first thing they noticed was the presence of a motorcycle next to Tommy's Jeep. It was red with yellow lightning bolts painted on either side. None of them knew who it could belong to, and for a moment they wondered if they should even be coming for training that day if Tommy had visitors up. Deciding that they should just ask him, they continued into the house. Conner opened the door and called out, "Doc? You there?"

A voice sounded through the open kitchen window. "Out back!" They followed the voice through the back door of the kitchen and found their science teacher sitting at a table in his backyard with another individual. The man had a vaguely Asian look to him, and was well built with short black hair. He was wearing a red muscle shirt and loose black pants. The two of them stood up and took places in front of the four of them. Tommy said, "Welcome to your first training session, newbies. Today we have a guest which will be aiding me in instructing you in basic martial arts. Please bow your heads and please, no hero worship; may I introduce you to the first Red Power Ranger and first leader of the Power Rangers, Jason Lee Scott."

Jason just shook his head at the over-the-top presentation and said, "Thank you kindly for the introduction, Dr. Technicolor. Why don't we start with a little show for them? A sparring match between me and their mentor?"

Tommy nodded and said, "Pull up a patch of grass and prepare for the most amazing fight you'll ever witness."

The four walked a ways away and took a seat on the ground. The two combatants stood apart from each other and bowed, then took up basic fighting stances. Soon the two were a whirlwind of movement, throwing and blocking punches and kicks in every which direction such that it was difficult for the spectators to follow the match. Soon a yawn was emitted from the littlest one, not because she was bored but because the motions were causing her to become sleepy. She leaned over and put her head on Conner's right leg.

Conner had crossed his legs under him and placed his hands on his knees, paying utmost attention to the fight. His eyes never left the former Red Ranger, and soon he appeared to lose focus, despite continuing to follow Jason's movements. Within his mind, he could picture the motions and movements, but instead of Jason it was Conner himself performing them. He hadn't even noticed the shifting mass to his right side nor her presence resting on his leg.

Kira was paying half attention to the fight and half attention to Conner, as something seemed off about him at the moment. She could feel him feeling out the battle, and was slightly concerned at the seeming trance he had placed himself in.

Similarly, Ethan wasn't paying any attention at all to the fight. All of his concentration was on Conner once it was apparent that he was going through something strange while watching the fight. It both scared and intrigued him enough to want to know what he was going through, and after a moment of focus, learned exactly what that was. This was not without an effect, however, and soon Ethan appeared to be in the same kind of trance, only unlike Conner, he was sweating bullets at the exposure.

The two former Rangers continued sparring for several minutes, neither gaining the upper hand on each other. Finally they both knew it wouldn't end, so they concluded the fight with a bow. Once it was over, they turned to address the Rangers. The scene before them shocked them both and they ran forward, Tommy taking Conner's shoulders and Jason doing similarly with Ethan's. They both snapped back to reality, Conner more gently than Ethan, and all three started shaking their heads to try to clear them.

Tommy said, "What the heck just happened there, guys? You all looked hypnotized or something…"

Conner blinked away the last of his disorientation and said, "I was just watching the fight… but after a moment, I stopped seeing Mr. Scott performing the moves and started seeing myself do them."

Expecting disbelief, Conner was surprised to see Tommy just nod in response. He said, "I've seen that before. Jason can do that; used to scare the crap out of us back in the day. It's made him one heck of a fighter, though…" He turned to look at Ethan, who still looked a little shook up. "What happened to you, Ethan? You had the same kind of look as Conner did, but you weren't paying any attention to the fight. Does this have anything to do with how you knew the Red Ranger was Conner last Monday?"

Ethan turned his head away before answering. "Yeah, it kind of does… I was wondering what was happening to Conner, so I kinda… _looked inside_… to see what was happening…" This last statement was met by a collective raised eyebrow, so he continued. "If I concentrate hard enough, I can read minds. It's what I did on Monday when Kira said it was Conner… I used the power to verify her claim."

"Ah." Was all Dr. Oliver said to that. Finally, he turned to Kira and said, "And what about you? You seemed a little distressed at what was happening, plus there's the matter of how you knew Conner was your rescuer on Monday. Care to give some explanations?"

Kira looked back and forth between Dr. Oliver and Conner for a moment before saying, "Um, no… I mean, not yet… Actually, can I speak with you for a moment, Conner?" She appeared increasingly agitated as she tried to explain herself. She stood up and walked a distance away into the surrounding woods. Conner shook Caroline gently to awaken her and stood up as well. He instructed her to stay with Dr. Oliver and followed Kira into the woods.

He found her standing there looking a little nervous. When he was a short distance away from her, he asked, "What's this about, Kira?" She didn't answer for several moments and he continued. "Does this have anything to do with what you were going to tell me in the park the other day?"

She halfway turned and he saw her nod. She fully faced him and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Once she exhaled, she said, "As I tried to tell you before; Conner, I have a confession to make to you…" She paused for a moment to gauge his current reaction. All she could read was fear and curiosity, so she forged onward. "I haven't been very fair to you all this time. You see, I kind of have this power… I can feel what other people around me are feeling." Conner looked very confused at this point, which caused Kira to sigh and shake her head. "I'm empathic, Conner. I can feel the feelings and emotions of the people around me." Conner's eyes widened at the realization. He sputtered for a moment but was unable to find his voice. Now all she could read was embarrassment. She said, "This is why it's not fair… I could feel your attraction to me the whole time. But you don't need to be embarrassed about it… I kind of feel something for you, too…"

She had blushed fiercely at this last statement. Conner calmed down at this point and took hold of her shoulders. He bent his head down close to her face and said, "Well if that's the case… thank you for being honest with me. I… It's true, I kind of was attracted to you from the beginning, but it wasn't until yesterday that I actually felt like I could give in to it. You see, I was visited by Jessica that morning and she told me something… she told me to move on." Conner had paused in his explanation for a moment to compose himself. "She said I had to find someone that could stand by my side, and could be there for me, and for Caroline. The vision went a little further and what I saw wasn't Jessica anymore… It was you…"

Kira could feel the truth in his words and reached out to grasp his body, pulling him into a tight hug. He returned the hug with equal force. After several minutes within each others' arms, they pulled apart and looked into each others' eyes, smiling. After a few moments, they both broke down laughing and again hugged, briefly this time. Kira said, "I guess we should get back, huh?"

Conner nodded and said, "Yeah they're probably wondering what's going on."

They grinned at each other momentarily before walking back out of the forest, hand in hand.

* * *

Once Conner had left the group, Tommy turned back to his Blue Ranger and said, "So you read minds? Billy will certainly find you intriguing…" He pondered the gift for a moment before asking, "Say, you don't use that power to cheat in class, do you?"

Ethan's eyes went wide and he shook his head violently. He answered, "No, no! It takes too much concentration to actually do it. It'd look too funny to actually try doing that in my classes. Plus, it's too easy to break the concentration, not to mention that it's much too tiring to sustain a connection; you saw what that did to me when I focused on Conner."

Tommy and Jason both nodded, satisfied with his answer. Jason said, "That might change if Billy feels like training him, though."

Dr. Oliver just looked at his friend and said, "Don't give him any ideas!"

Jason laughed and turned to the other person in their group. He kneeled down to address her and said, "And who is this little one? She looks too young to be a ranger?"

She grinned at him and said, "I'm Caroline and I'm three!"

Jason chuckled and said, "Well I'm your Uncle Jason."

Further conversation was cut short when the Red and Yellow Rangers came walking back together. A single of Tommy's eyebrows rose when he noticed that they had ahold of each others' hand. Kira blushed before Dr. Oliver said, "Are you ready now to let us know what's going on with you?"

She nodded and released Conner's hand. She said, "I'm not sure how to best explain it, so I'll just go ahead and say it: I'm empathic. Everything you feel, I feel. I don't have full control over it, and I can't block it out completely. At best, I can focus on a single individual and tune out everything else. I knew the Red Ranger was Conner because I matched his _emotional signature_ to the one I had read that morning in science class."

"So," Dr. Oliver started, "We've got someone who operates on Observational Memory, a telepath, and an empath. To top it all off, you're all Rangers. I'm not too surprised, really. Recently it seems that all Rangers have had extra powers of some kind in addition to the Ranger ones…"

Something clicked in Conner's mind at that statement and he said, "Oh yeah, that reminds me… I now have Super Speed."

The others stared at him for a moment. Tommy asked, "How exactly did you get that?"

Conner held his left arm up and displayed the Red Gem. He said, "I think it's an extra power from the Dino Gem itself. When the park was attacked, I picked up Caroline and ran home with her. I hadn't noticed it at the time, but she pointed out that everyone around us was moving much slower than we were. That's when I noticed that my Gem was glowing brightly. After dropping her off, I sped back to the park and found I could activate my power at will; I also learned that the power disappears after morphing, since I was still moving at Super Speed when I morphed and had dropped down to normal speed afterwards."

Tommy frowned, but nodded. He explained, "That makes sense in a way. You need to be quick to play soccer, not to mention that the Tyrannosaurus was supposed to be a very quick runner once it got moving. But if you have an extra power, the others should, too. What can we do to activate those powers?"

Conner pondered this for a moment before saying, "I think it needs to be triggered the first time. I had a genuine need to move very, very quickly and the Gem responded. I think if we fought, say, 'drones without morphing, it might be the trigger needed to get their powers to the forefront."

They all agreed with this theory and settled into silence. Finally, Dr. Oliver asked, "Was there anything else, or should we get started on this training session?"

Kira squeaked for the second time that day and said, "We felt an oppressive destiny at the café this morning! It was like we felt with each other, but something about it seemed off. The person was emitting wave after wave of things like anger, hate, and jealousy; especially jealousy after Conner introduced him to Caroline. I really can't explain it very well…"

Tommy looked confused at this, since another destiny in such close approximation to these three could only mean one thing: a fifth Dino Gem out there. Ethan spoke up, "Do you think he's destined for that Dino Gem you were going to look for this morning?"

That brought Tommy out of his thoughts, and he replied, "No. In fact, I know he has nothing to do with it. It'll require a few more tests, though, but soon you'll have a brand new teammate."

Conner looked at him confusedly and said, "Wait, what? You found another Gem? Why didn't anybody tell me?"

Tommy laughed and said, "You had left with sleeping beauty there before I told these two. Jason went with me this morning and we located a Gem that seems to be sealed in a black rock of some sort. I'm performing tests on it now to try and release it from its prison." Conner lifted his head in understanding and Dr. Oliver continued. "If that's all, let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

They spent the remainder of the morning going over basic martial arts stances and moves, and Jason taught them all their first kata. Caroline had watched them all from her seat at the table in the backyard, but stood up when Jason's part of the training began. Tommy watched her, amazed, as she mimicked the movements of the kata almost flawlessly, just like her father.

It was approaching Noon when they heard the sound of a car approaching the house. A loud honking sound could be heard, and Jason looked up and said, "Hey, lunch is here."

Tommy looked at his friend and questioned, "You got lunch delivered?"

He shook his head and motioned for them to head into the house. The Rangers all shrugged and followed them in, Conner holding his daughter by the hand as they filed in. What greeted them was a stack of five large pizzas on the center island of the kitchen, as well as four color-coded people standing around arranging things. A tall, sandy haired one in blue acknowledged their host and said, "Tommy, you realize you have a telepath and an empath in our midst, correct?"

The former leader shook his head and replied, "I do now. They just told us this morning."

Caroline looked at the strange people that just showed up took a step backwards. She reached up and tugged on her father's shirt. Conner kneeled down and she said, "Daddy, who are all these people?"

He shrugged and said, "I don't know, but why don't we find out?" He picked her up and they faced the newcomers.

The Rangers were all lined up on one side of the island, the strangers were lined up on the other side, and Tommy and Jason were standing between the groups off to the side. Dr. Oliver turned to his Rangers and said, "Guys, I'd like to introduce you to the other four Original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Billy Cranston in Blue, Trini Kwan in Yellow, Kimberly Hart in Pink, and Zach Taylor in Black." He turned back to the now identified former Rangers and said, "Guys? These are my new team of Rangers: Ethan James in Blue, Kira Ford in Yellow, and their leader and Red Ranger Conner McKnight."

Unable to help herself since everyone else was introduced at the time, the girl in Conner's arms shouted, "I'm Caroline McKnight!"

The room chuckled at the interjection. The one identified as Zach spoke up, "Well now that we all know each other, why don't we dig in? I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry!"

They got out enough plates for everybody and they filled up with what they thought they could eat. It came as no surprise that Conner and Jason appeared tied for taking the most pizza to start with. They took their bounty outside and found places around the backyard to sit and eat. They stayed together as a group for lunch, and the conversations were many and varied. Kira and Ethan both learned that Billy had his own well developed mental powers, and promised to train them to better control the powers over the course of the next week.

After a short time, they finished lunch and were at a loss for a moment on what to do. Tommy didn't want to continue the teens' training while his guests were hanging around like that, so he spoke to the group, "Any suggestions on what to do now?"

No one said anything at first, so Conner made a decision for them. "Let's go to the park. There's room for us to spread out and do whatever we might want to, plus I know I could use some exercise after that lunch."

Jason laughed and said, "Of course you could. I think you might just give Rocky a run for his money when it comes to food."

Conner looked confused at this, to which Kimberly giggled and said, "Rocky was the second Red. He was a human garbage disposal; he could eat any anything and everything, and much more than the rest of us were even close to capable of."

"Oh." Was all Conner said. He wasn't sure if he should take that as a compliment or be offended. He settled on indifference and asked, "So, we're going to the park?"

The others consented to the idea and they all piled into each others' cars; Conner, Kira, Ethan, and Caroline taking Conner's car, Zach, Billy, and Trini in Trini's car, and Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly in Tommy's Jeep. They arrived to the park and found a clearing near a serene looking lake to spread out in. Kira and Kimberly had brought their guitars and were playing for each other back and forth; Caroline had taken a spot near them to listen in like an impromptu concert of sorts. Ethan had his laptop, and Billy and Trini were talking with him about software and technology.

Conner believed he'd be practicing more martial arts with the other three, but was surprised to see Zach bring a soccer ball with him. Seeing the look on his face, Zach winked and threw the ball towards him, to which he promptly started working his magic, looking as if he'd never stopped playing. Soon a mini game had started up with Tommy and Zach teaming up against Conner and Jason. After a short time, Ethan had joined Conner's team while Billy joined Tommy's; the girls had stopped to watch the action between the six players.

An hour had passed since they arrived. They were all enjoying themselves immensely, which may have been the reason why a swirling green vortex appeared a short distance away. It deposited a small army of Tyrannodrones and disappeared. Tommy and his Rangers fell into place almost immediately, forming a line in front of the intruders. Once the former Rangers noticed what was going on, they joined them. That's when something occurred to Conner; he shouted, "Form a circle!" He turned around and bent down. "Stay in the center of the circle, honey. We won't let them get to you…"

Conner rejoined the defenders, who had created a ring around the little girl in the center. The 'drones charged and pressed into the circle of Rangers. They fought for a few minutes before a sound came from Tommy's left wrist. He paused long enough to answer it, "Hayley?"

"_I just got to the Command Center. That black rock thing of yours is glowing. Know anything about it?"_

"Nope. It's got a Gem in it, but I'm not done analyzing it. Can you teleport Caroline out of here, please? It'll make fighting these 'drones a little easier…"

"_I'm on it."_ A moment later, in full view of all of the combatants, Caroline disappeared in a streak of Pink. They didn't have time to dwell on the reason for it, since the attack was still ongoing. Now the Rangers were free to spread out and attack in a more natural way; they were free to use more complicated maneuvers that they couldn't when maintaining a ring formation.

Tommy found himself fighting alongside and in sync with Kimberly. She called out to him, "Just like old times, huh?"

He laughed. "Yeah, feels like I never quit."

Conner was already implementing his Super Speed to help him fight, but Kira and Ethan were stuck relying on the moves they had been taught that morning. Despite the increased numbers fighting with them, the 'drones were still overwhelming them. Soon, Kira found herself crowded in by a press of enemies and suddenly felt the urge to scream. Unable to resist it, she gave in and let out a scream like she never had before: it was as if sound waves were solid and yellow in color. It decimated the 'drones it directly hit and pushed the remaining ones backwards. Kira stopped for a moment and blinked in confusion at what just happened. Another set of 'drones tried to take advantage of her distraction, but she just turned to them and screamed again, satisfied that she could do that on command it seems.

Similarly, Ethan was assailed by several 'drones in succession. He found himself not able to retaliate as well as he wanted to because the attacks he was attempting to block were fiercer than he could handle. He found himself getting mad at his foes, and a moment later he could feel a sensation come over his body; the next attack that tried to cut into him was blocked easily, and he found he barely felt it. He pushed the offender away from him and slammed his arm into the next one, causing it to go flying. Ethan smiled; this was going to be easy if he could keep that up.

With six veteran Rangers and three new Ranger with civilian powers, the Tyrannodrones were soon decimated, and the ones that remained opened the Invisiportal and retreated. The nine combatants remaining gathered together and caught their breath. Zach spoke first, "Haven't done that in forever! I've still got it, though."

"I don't think we'll ever lose it." Trini replied. "The Power leaves traces; we'll always be able to feel it, and when the need arises it will continue to strengthen us when needed. We may not be full Rangers anymore, but that doesn't mean we can't still access The Power."

Tommy inflected his best Leader Voice that he could. "Let's get back to the Command Center. Hayley said that rock I found this morning was glowing, so it might be ready to release the Dino Gem trapped inside it."

* * *

When they reached the Command Center, they were greeted by Hayley appearing to perform scans of some type on Caroline. Conner rushed forwards and asked, "What's going on? Is Caroline okay?"

Hayley smiled to him and said, "She's fine. I was just checking her over to see if I could figure out why she teleported in Pink. There's no trace of Power in her, so I can only assume it's something she's going to become destined for sometime in the future." Conner looked anxious at this declaration, so Hayley soothed him. "You don't have to worry… I doubt she's going to become a Ranger any time soon. It's likely not going to happen for a very long time, if ever."

Tommy stepped forward and said, "That's comforting. Now, what's going on with that stone?" He walked over to where he had left it and saw the glow. It looked like it was charged with some kind of energy; it resembled sunlight in a way. He touched it and the rock appeared to melt away, leaving a smaller Gemstone in its place, colored Black and glowing faintly.

The others had gathered around by this point and he looked up at Conner. Conner stared into the Gem for a few moments before closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I can't sense who it goes to like I did with the Yellow and Blue Gems."

Tommy sighed and realized he'd have to do this like he did the Red Gem. Slowly he reached his hand out, but stopped when Hayley gasped and said, "Are you sure you want to do that? You remember what happened with the Red Gem?"

Dr. Oliver nodded and said, "It's the only way, Hayles. If Conner can't figure out who gets it, somebody's got to touch it, and I'm the only one to do it." He moved his hand slowly towards the glowing piece of rock on the table, and once he was hovering right over it, he shot his hand out and grasped the object. A feeling washed over him, and once again he could feel a rush of power energizing him. The Gem glowed brightly for a moment before fading. The other Dino Thunder Rangers' eyes widened at what just happened; it was just like with them!

The former Rangers in the room just looked at him expectantly, not realizing what just happened. Finally, Kimberly lost her patience and said, "Well? Who's the new Ranger?"

Tommy just kind of smiled weakly at her and said, "You're looking at him."

Now there were several reactions that Tommy was expecting from his friends hearing this news. Each of them happened in turn: at the top of his list was Kimberly fainting, next was Billy, Jason, and Hayley just shaking their heads at him, Zach looked hurt when he realized Tommy was going to be a Black Ranger, and finally there was Trini, who had tumbled to the floor doubled over with laughter.

Jason said, "You really can't escape it, can you?"

Tommy shrugged. Kimberly had come around by this point and just looked at him, saying, "Really? A fourth color? Can't you just retire like the rest of us?"

"I guess not," Tommy replied, "hey, when The Power calls, you answer. It was the same with us back when we first accepted it."

Hayley appeared to Dr. Oliver's side with an object in her hand. She shoved in into his free hand and said, "I suppose this really is yours, then." He looked at it and saw the Black Brachio morpher. Grinning, he slipped the bracelet around his left wrist and jammed the Gem into the device, which glowed for a moment.

The moment was cut short by the blaring of the alarm. Hayley took her position at the computer and located the source of the alarm. "More 'drones and a monster of some kind. Looks like you're getting a test drive, Dr. Technicolor."

The former Rangers in the room snickered at the jab as the current Rangers took up positions; Conner and Dr. Oliver right next to each other with Kira and Ethan off to either side and a step back from them. Dr. Oliver pulled a small object from his pocket. It flipped up into the shape of a key. The hand motions were different for the newest old Ranger, but the result was the same, though Tommy chose not to include the "Hah!" that the younger ones said at the end of their morphing call.

In a flash of light, four Dino Thunder Rangers were standing in the midst of Tommy's Command Center. The suit design for the Black Ranger was slightly different; the helmet had a blunt horn on it, and there were things resembling shoulder pads on it. Instead of a Thundermax Laser in a holster, he had an odd looking baton to his side. Hayley said, "I'll teleport you all a short distance away from the attack. Be careful out there, and good luck."

She punched a few buttons and in four flashes of light, they were gone.

* * *

As Hayley had said, they arrived a short distance from the monster and its minions. They took stock of the monster first, and found it to look rather brutish; it was large and bulky, with wide forearms and hands that were likely meant for attacking with heavy blows. It didn't seem too bright, but Tommy knew not to count on that. They nodded to one another and charged into the throng of 'drones, aiming to take them out first before engaging the main threat.

Kira and Ethan missed being able to use their Gem powers in this fight, but found that the actual Ranger Form compensated by giving them more strength and stamina in general. In a matter of moments, the Tyrannodrones were taken care of and they were able to turn their attention to the monster.

Seeing it was now left alone, the monster said, "Are you ready to play?" It ran forward and targeted the Blue Ranger first, who had the forethought to summon his Tricera Shield just before the blow connected. He managed to block it with some effort, and pushed the monster back. Pulling his Laser out, he fired twice to further drive it back. The others had drawn their weapons as well, and the Black Ranger took flourish when he shouted "Brachio Staff" before pulling the weapon from the holster.

They surrounded the monster and attacked one by one; some of the attacks made it through, others were blocked by the massive arms. Finally, Kira shouted, "This isn't working! We need to hit it with something harder!"

Dr. Oliver knew exactly what was needed and said, "Combine your weapons together. They form a weapon called the Z-Rex Blaster. It should pack the punch you need."

They nodded and jumped back away from their opponent. The weapons connected together easily and together they shouted, "Z-Rex Blaster! Ready, Aim, Fire!" Conner pulled the trigger and a ball of energy shot out of the Tyranno mouth. It enveloped the monster when it connected and a moment later, it exploded. Pieces of it littered the ground, and the Rangers shouted in victory.

The celebration was short lived, as black clouds suddenly sprung up over the battlefield and a steady rain began falling. In the next moment, the pieces of the monster merged back together and grew in size, causing the monster to now tower over them. Conner turned to his mentor and teammate and said, "How are we supposed to fight that?"

Before Dr. Oliver could answer, a sound came from his left wrist. Raising it up to his helmet, he said, "What have you got?"

"_Guess who woke up after you morphed?"_ Tommy smiled under his helmet, knowing that this new development wasn't going to be an issue. _"He's on his way to you even as we speak; he's got a present for your Rangers, too."_

"Thank you, Hayley." He turned to his fellow Rangers and said, "No worries, help is on the way…" The ground rumbled and a screeching noise could be heard from a distance. "In fact, there's help now." They turned to the new disturbance and found a towering Black Brachiosaurus. It stopped and three panels on its body opened up; a Red Tyrannosaurus, Yellow Pterodactyl, and Blue Triceratops all emerged from the beast and started making their way towards the battlefield. "Meet the Biozords. After the island exploded, they went dormant, but my becoming a Ranger has apparently allowed them to awaken and come together. You should know what to do, so get to it."

They found that he was right, and they proceeded to jump up and merge with their respective zords. The three zords began transforming and merging. Once it was completed, the Rangers piloting it shouted, "Thundersaurus Megazord!"

"This is so cool!" exclaimed Ethan. He was amazed at the technology necessary to make this work.

"I know what you mean." said Kira. "It was amazing flying in the Pterazord. You have no idea…"

Conner shook his head and said, "Well we won't be able to find out until we trash this guy. Let's go!" They engaged the monster, slashing with the Tyranno tail and punching with the Tricera fist while trying to block the attacks of the monster. They exchanged blows for a short time before Conner finally got tired of it. He concentrated on his console for a moment and came to a realization. He shouted, "Tyranno Drill!" and the Tyranno tail started to spin. The megazord drew back the now rapidly spinning drill weapon and charged forward, thrusting through the monster and stopping on the other side of it. It crackled with energy momentarily before falling over and exploding.

* * *

The Rangers had teleported away and those remaining in the Command Center gathered around the computer to watch the fight. Caroline jumped into a seat next to Hayley and said, "This is my favorite part!" The others couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

When it came time to take down the monster and the others had formed the blaster, Billy asked, "Why didn't Tommy combine with them, too? Surely there's a way for his weapon to fit in?"

Trini shushed him and said, "This is the first time they've ever done this! They really didn't know if his Staff would work with it."

"Yeah," Jason injected, "remember that one time when Tommy tried to combine his Dragon Dagger with our weapons? Man that was a disaster…"

Zach cracked up at the memory. "Oh man, I thought that monster was going to die of laughter! We're lucky we recovered before he did, 'cause that would have been embarrassing if he'd managed to beat us while we were still confused."

The monster grew to super sized proportion and Hayley started punching buttons. She hit the one for communications and heard Tommy ask, _"What have you got?"_

She smirked and replied, "Guess who woke up after you morphed? He's on his way to you even as we speak; he's got a present for your Rangers, too."

"_Thank you, Hayley."_ They watched the screen as the Brachiozord approached the Rangers and ejected the smaller zords for them to use. The spectators watched in awe as they formed their megazord and did battle with the monster. Moments later, the fight was over and the zords were retreating. In four flashes of light, the Dino Thunder Rangers were once again standing in the Command Center in their civilian forms.

Jason stepped forward with a bright smile on his face. "You did good for your first time in a megazord. The Gems have chosen well…"

Conner bowed to his predecessor and said, "Thank you, Mr. Scott. It means a lot to hear that from you."

Jason frowned and said, "Call me Jason. I'm not old like your Science teacher."

Tommy shouted, "Hey, we're the same age!" The room descended into laughter.


	6. Promise of the Future

**Author's Notes**: Hoo boy, was this one something else. Since posting chapter 5, I had no idea where I wanted to take this story. There's a couple of events that cannot happen for quite awhile, so now I'm just kind of filling in time. At this point in particular, I wasn't sure where to go, since I didn't know what Sunday activities I wanted them all to participate in, or if I was going to skip to the next Monday and go from there. As it is, I cheated a little and we haven't even left Saturday night, yet.

Anyways, once I got started on it, it just kinda rolled from there. The whole chapter is mega-fluffy all over the place. Never let it be said that guys can't write fluff! Our main protagonists have reached a decision! As for the rest of the chapter, well… I can't really say where that came from. I know that I've never drank alcohol in my life, so writing a scene with booze in it was, for lack of a better word, weird. Finally, I have no idea if I plan to make Kimberly a permanent character or not. Maybe. I was originally planning on the majority of Zordon's 12 (excluding only a few of them) to be involved in some gigantic "Love Web" (compared to a Love Triangle). As it was originally imagined, there would be three females vying for Tommy's attention (the obvious three: Kim, Kat, and Hayley), but those same ladies were going to have others wanting them, and them possibly feeling something similar. It helps that I didn't plan on any of them to actually be seriously involved with anyone from the start. **Anyways**, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please feel free to leave your comments and complaints in the review box.

**Disclaimer**: Power Rangers is owned by Saban. Power Rangers Dino Thunder was owned by Disney at the time. I only own the story and the words, as well as Caroline.

* * *

It had been an exhausting Saturday, and the afternoon was getting a little long. The excitement of meeting all of the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, along with the training that morning and all that encompassed it, and finally the battle that had occurred that afternoon had all quickly faded and now the teens were starting to get tired. Dr. Oliver understood and was just as happy to let them leave as this would allow him to catch up in person with his old teammates. He hadn't prepared for them to arrive so soon, but it was just as well that they showed up sooner rather than later.

Once his old friends and Hayley had settled into the living room, Tommy turned to his best friend and said, "How could you honestly bring up my age in front of my students? It's bad enough they already look at me like I'm an old man…"

Jason cracked a smile and said, "Hey, it's not my fault you keep getting new powers. I mean, sure, I can still use my first powers, but I'm not active, unlike you. And considering you're a science teacher, it's real easy to call you old…"

Kimberly giggled and said, "Especially when you wear those glasses. They really add five years to you, you know?"

Tommy narrowed his eyes at her and swiftly changed the subject. "So before you all barged in with lunch, Jason and I were training the kids in some beginner martial arts. Kira and Ethan stumbled a little while trying to learn the kata, but Conner, with that ability of his, managed it almost flawlessly… and strangely enough, so did Caroline, though she wasn't actually there to be trained." He paused a moment to examine their reactions. Most of them looked surprised, though Jason was just nodding. He continued, "When it was noticed that the exercise was not actually combat related, she jumped up from the table and started following along. I was watching her; it was amazing. I think she inherited that from her father."

Trini gave a sage nod and said, "It makes sense. Observational Memory doesn't usually just spring up in people; they usually have a parent or grandparent with the ability already, so this instance isn't so unusual."

Hayley interjected, "That's not to mention that it fits with the current theme of Rangers having some kind of powers outside of their Ranger ones. While she isn't a currently active Ranger, there's a very high chance that she could become one at some point down the line. Her Pink signal is certainly pointing in that direction. We'll want to keep an eye open in her future. Unless The Power comes from some program like Lightspeed Rescue, Conner will have to watch for the signs of her acquiring a power source."

"But that's not for a long time." Zack said. He turned to his former leader and said, "Now let's talk about the here and now; how come you had to steal my color? I thought we were friends, man?"

Tommy rolled his eyes and said, "Didn't I already say that I didn't choose this? If I could have, I'd have given that Gem to just about anybody, even that kid they met this morning with all the anger issues." He thought about that last statement for a second before saying, "Actually, no, I wouldn't. If he's destined for a Gem, he's probably destined to be evil, and I can't subject my Rangers to that this soon after getting their powers. They need a couple of weeks before something like that should happen to them."

Billy shook his head at this notion. "You know as well as the rest of us that we don't choose when evil Rangers attack. He could pop up tomorrow and you could do nothing about it but fight back."

That put a damper on the mood. Looking to his companions, Jason asked," Hey Bro, you got any beer? After that I think I need one…"

Tommy looked at him like he'd spoken a foreign language. "Are you kidding me? I'm a high school teacher… _of course I have beer!_" Then he considered his last statement and said, "Of course, now that I'm active, I guess there's no more drinking for me. Can't go getting drunk when the city's in danger…"

Jason's face lit up and he said, "Hey, no problem! I'll just take it off your hands…" He got up and went into the kitchen. After some rustling sounds were heard, Jason once again reappeared with several bottles in his hand. He passed them around, though Billy and Trini both refused them, as did Tommy after giving it a good hard stare.

Jason was about to get started on his first one when another idea popped into his head. He dug into his pocket and produced his cell phone. Zach took a quick swig and asked, "Who ya callin', Jase?"

Jason smiled and said, "Andros. Gotta get the word out and find out who won the Color Pool."

Tommy shook his head. Kimberly's face soured and she said, "Yeah, that's right! You owe me fifty bucks, Dr. Black Ranger! I told you if you weren't pink it was coming out of your pocket!" The others laughed and Tommy's mouth was held agape. She smiled and said, "I know… you can give me a tour of the Reefside mall this week!"

Now Tommy just groaned and said, "No! Anything but that…"

Her expression neutralized at that and she regarded him for a moment before saying, "Anything, huh…?"

Jason had just gotten off the phone, though he'd been following the conversation with his other ear. After hearing her say that, his eyes widened and he said, "No, I'm not hearing this. I don't want to know what my little sister is considering as alternative payment…"

Now Kimberly adopted a predatory look as she stared at her somewhat former boyfriend. She said, "Trini, I don't think I'm coming back to the hotel room tonight. You don't mind do you?"

Trini's eyes gleamed as she said, "Nope, no problem at all. You just have fun tonight, alright?"

Tommy was just staring at her at this point, looking very much like the proverbial deer in the headlights. The others were already on their feet at this point and starting to head out the door. Jason said, "Thanks for the beer, Bro. See you tomorrow… uh, probably late in the morning…" He shuddered. "Don't want to walk in on anything…"

Tommy shook his head violently for a moment before remembering to call out, "Hey, who won the pool, anyways?"

Jason turned back and said, "Strangely enough, it was Adam. He was the only one to figure you'd end up Black. I guess this will make up for you stealing his color, huh?" He grinned up to him and said, "Good thing I never got to that beer, huh? Would've made riding this thing a bit difficult…" He put on his helmet, revved up his motorcycle and with a wave sped off back to his hotel. Tommy noticed that the others had already left as well, and was starting to feel relieved that he was alone when he turned around and saw her standing there.

Kimberly smiled and said, "So, what do you want to do?"

* * *

A short way down the road after leaving their mentor's house, a thought occurred to Conner. Without taking his eyes off the road, he asked his companions, "Er, how would you guys like to come over for dinner again? Since I'll be home, it's my night to cook… I was thinking of stir fry tonight."

He looked in his rearview mirror and could see Kira smiling back to him. She answered him, "Sure, why not? I don't mind spending time with your family."

Conner sneaked a sideways glance to Ethan. He answered, "I've got some things to do tonight; some modifications to my computer that were inspired by mine and Kira's predecessors."

Conner nodded and continued driving, now knowing that his first stop will be the James house. Fortunately the stop was along the way to his own house, so it wouldn't be a diversion. They reached it in short order and Ethan stopped to wave back at them as they pulled back out onto the road. Minutes later they were pulling into Conner's driveway.

Caroline bounced out of the car and ran inside; the door was left unlocked in anticipation of their return. Conner waited outside of the car for Kira to exit the vehicle. They smiled at each other for a moment before Conner reached out his hand and took hers. As they were walking up to the house, Conner couldn't help but be pleased that only Kira wanted to stay for dinner. Since everything that happened that morning, he had wanted to spend some more time with her that wasn't actively fighting or training.

They walked through the door and were confronted almost immediately by Conner's mother. She saw them and smiled, saying, "And how was training, dear?"

"I'll tell you all about it at dinner. I should go get it started…" He let go of Kira's hand and walked into the kitchen.

Despite knowing exactly what she was feeling, Kira was still a little nervous around Conner's mother. She gestured to the living room and walked in to take a seat herself. Kira followed after and decided on one of the chairs opposite of where she was sitting. Mrs. McKnight opened the conversation. "It seems my son has taken a liking to you. I know it might be special circumstances since you're saving the world together, but it's more than he's been capable of for a long time now."

Kira's cheeks turned a soft pink as she said, "I know I've only really known Conner for such a short time now, but he really means a lot to me. Knowing what he's had to go through and how he's handled it this whole time… coming to terms with is all and making the decisions he's had to recently made me see him in a completely new light… like the real Conner McKnight was always there under the surface, and only now was it finally able to break free."

"That's the Conner that we've always seen. He would seem so normal, but the moment he walked out the door it's like he put on a mask. I've been so happy to see him acting more like his old self recently…" She sighed. "And then there's Caroline… she adores you, you know? Of course, you're the first female friend of Conner's that she's ever met, so that might have something to do with it. Either way, though, you have managed to take a place in both of their hearts…"

Kira regarded the woman for a moment. The way she talked, it sounded like she had a similar power to her own. She dismissed it, however, since according to Billy, people with the gift were apparently rare in the universe at large. She smiled and said, "I hope you don't mind my saying, but they've both taken a place in mine, as well." She paused for a moment. "To be honest, though, just like us being Rangers, something about all this feels right. It's like some higher power than I can comprehend is drawing me to him. I have no desire to turn away from him…"

The conversation had settled into silence, both of them pleased in the current situation. A moment later Caroline came bounding down the stairs and into the living room. She stopped momentarily to look between the two. After basically no time at all, she chose to sit next to… no, more like snuggle up to Kira. Kira just blushed at the blatant show of affection, to which the girl's grandmother laughed softly. Unbeknownst to her, Kira could feel how pleased the scene made her, and so just let it happen.

The moment was more or less shattered by the simultaneous activities of Conner announcing that dinner was prepared and both Conner's father and brother walking in. Everyone jumped all at once, which saved Kira the slight embarrassment of appearing to act the part of mother in front of the two men.

They all filed into the kitchen and each of them took a plate to fill. Conner had already made his daughter's plate up beforehand, knowing exactly how much she could eat. Once they were ready, they gathered around the table and started eating.

After a few minutes, Mrs. McKnight reasked her question, "So, how was your training with Dr. Oliver this morning?"

Conner swallowed the bite he had been chewing before answering, "It was pretty okay; kind of a refresher, though, since I did manage to retain some of those lessons from my youth." He got a little far off look before continuing, "But I did learn something new: a kata."

Caroline spoke up at that. "Uncle Jason taught us that!"

Conner's mother was taken aback by the outburst and glared at Conner. "Just who is this Uncle Jason and why is he teaching my granddaughter anything?"

Conner, for his part, kept calm at his mother's accusations. He said, "Jason is Dr. Oliver's best friend and the original Red Ranger." Her expression lessoned ever so slightly, which gave him the confidence to continue, "A kata, in this case, is mostly something done for centering an individual. For us, it's a means of finding balance and discipline. No actual fighting technique was taught to Caroline." Beneath his indifferent expression, Conner thought, '_Of course, she watched all of that training, and if she's anything like me, she'll retain that for the rest of her life._'

His mother now looked placated from the explanation. She said, "I guess I can't complain about that. So I take you all enjoyed yourselves today?"

Conner nodded. "Yeah, actually Jason wasn't the only original Ranger to be up for a visit; all five of the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers are apparently in Reefside for a week. We all spent some time in the park this afternoon, and I even played in a small pickup game of soccer… it felt like I'd never quit the team. It was almost perfect, until the 'drones attacked…"

Kira felt a little panicked at him even mentioning it, though for their part, his parents were seeming to take the news in stride. She decided to pick up where Conner left off. "Fortunately the former Rangers were all there with us. We formed a ring around Caroline and protected her until Hayley got to the Command Center and teleported her back to the house. After that, we weren't in any danger; the others were fighting back like they'd never left it."

Conner nodded in response to this and continued, "Once we got back, we found Caroline was alright and some rock Dr. Oliver found this morning was glowing. He apparently found another Dino Gem like ours, and once he was able to examine it, he was able to free it and bond with it…"

It took a moment before Conner's words sunk in. Then realization dawned and his father said, "So he's going to be fighting alongside you now, eh? I take it he's in Black?" They were stunned by his deductive reasoning and simply nodded in response. He chuckled and said, "It wasn't difficult after that little display earlier this week where he was all flustered about his colors being different."

"Anyways," Kira continued, spurred on by their seeming lack of outward concern, "So Dr. Oliver bonded to the Black Gem and was given his bracelet just before a real attack happened. A lot of different things happened today, and most of them were positive. We certainly all enjoyed ourselves."

They continued eating and talking quietly amongst themselves. When everyone was finished, Conner gathered up the plates and took them into the kitchen to wash them out. While he was away, Caroline absentmindedly said, "Can you be my mommy, Kira?"

She visibly sputtered at the sudden question, and Conner's parents eyed her warily for her response. She replied, "That's not up to me, Caroline…"

The little girl got a funny look on her face when she said this, as if that was definitely not the correct answer to her question. She said, "That's not what daddy said! He said it was up to you…"

Kira did her best to stay calm; she could sense the confusion in her heart at hearing the exact opposite of what she was expecting. Kira wasn't surprised that Conner would have answered that way, what with their feelings for each other. She smiled to the little girl and said, "In that case, I'll need to talk to your father…"

Conner returned shortly after that and the family retired to the living room. Eric excused himself to his bedroom. The remaining McKnights sat around and began another round of quiet conversation. Mrs. McKnight spoke to Kira, "I hear you had a concert last night at that café. How was it?"

Kira closed her eyes and sighed contentedly at the memory. She answered, "It was wonderful. The turnout was pretty good, and for the most part it seemed everyone enjoyed it."

With a yawn, Caroline said, "She sounds like an angel!"

Kira visibly blushed at the praise. Conner chuckled and said, "Yes she does. And you sound like you're about to drop. Time for bed, munchkin."

He was about to take his daughter upstairs when the two older McKnights stood up. Mr. McKnight said, "Actually, we're going to bed, too, so we'll take her." Conner stared up at them for a moment; it was rare that they volunteered to tuck her in.

When they were left alone, Conner relaxed a little and put an arm around Kira's shoulder. She leaned against him, feeling both of their contentment at the same time. She sighed and said, "We need to talk, Conner… Caroline asked me if I could be her mother…"

Conner tensed at this, unsure of if the answer was going to be good or bad for either of them. He asked her, "What did you tell her?"

"I said it wasn't up to me." Conner winced when she said this, knowing it had conflicted directly with what he had said before. She continued, "So, what do you think? Even though we barely know each other and are still in high school, can you see us going that far?"

Conner gave it some real thought before answering her. He held her a little tighter and said, "Yes. All things considered, you know much more about me than basically everyone else I've ever met, then there's the fact that we're Rangers together, so we already watch each others' backs, and finally there's your power… it'll more or less keep me honest with you—not that I have any intention of lying at any point—and it should make our experiences together so much more than they would be otherwise." To punctuate his statement, he did his best to amplify his feelings towards her, and her sharp inhalation right afterward was an indicator that he had succeeded.

She settled in a little closer to him and said, "Well, it's not something I have to keep to myself… Billy told me that in time and with training, I can learn to project my own feelings to others, with ways to differentiate it between making the recipient think it's their own feeling, and having them know it's coming from me. You don't always have to feel at a disadvantage around me…"

"I've never felt at a disadvantage, even after you told me." He leaned over and placed a light kiss on her cheek, which caused her to shiver from the contact. Conner could feel himself trembling on the inside, as this was the most feeling he'd shown another girl since Jessica had passed.

Kira felt his uncertainty for his previous action. She decided to sooth his fear by leaning up and reciprocating the action, which calmed him immensely. She smiled at the reaction, but then frowned as she looked over to the wall clock. She said, "It's getting a little late… I hate to say it, but I should probably get home."

Conner nodded and said, "Yeah, who knows what Dr. Oliver and his friends have in store for us tomorrow. Or Mesogog for that matter. We should probably try to stay well rested for as long as we're Rangers…"

Reluctantly, they disengaged from each other and stood up. Together they walked out the door and to Conner's car. Kira yawned a few times throughout the ride. When they arrived, Conner parked his vehicle and got out, different from the other couple of times he dropped her off. He walked her to the door and buried her in a hug before she walked inside. Kira watched from inside the house as he sped off to return home. She turned around and was about to head off to her room when she ran into her mother.

Eying her daughter warily, she asked, "Did you enjoy your dinner at the McKnights?"

Not wavering, Kira said, "Yes I did. Conner's a good cook; I might have to stay for dinner more often."

Seeing that she wasn't backing down, Mrs. Ford sighed. "You know I just don't want you to feel obligated, and I certainly don't want you to get hurt…"

Kira held a hand up to stop her mother from continuing. She said, "Stop it, mom. For one thing, you know I can verify basically everything he says to me; I trust him with far more than my life. As for the other thing, no, I feel no obligation; now that we both have been honest with each other about everything, I'm now more sure than ever that this is the right thing to do. I care for both him and his daughter, and I know he cares for me just as much, if not more."

Her mother sighed again and turned around. Before she started to walk away, she said, "If this is what you want, I can't stop you; just please be careful?" With that, she walked upstairs.

Kira knew precisely what her mother meant by that statement. If her mother knew just how much his experiences had scarred him, she wouldn't be quite so concerned. Still, she decided to take the words to heart regardless, as she could apply them to her situation, anyways. After all, what good would promising to be her mother do if she got herself killed while trying to save the world?


	7. Out of this World

**Author's Notes**: I'm going to just get this out of the way and say that I know my decision about what was revealed in this chapter may not be as widely accepted as some of the things I've wrote so far. Try to keep an open mind, though. I had this planned from the beginning, though I don't know if I had planned on it being this soon. There's still at least one more episode I want to get through before Whitey gets intro'd. Still, though, I hope everyone enjoys that direction I'm starting to take it… there's many more twists ahead! Please, all comments and concerns go straight to the review box.

**Disclaimer**: Power Rangers is owned by Saban. Power Rangers Dino Thunder was owned by Disney at the time. I only own the story and the words, as well as the character Caroline.

* * *

It was early Sunday morning, which was against Jason's better judgment; he'd been overruled by his friends. Together they walked up to and opened the front door to Tommy Oliver's forest home. The sight that greeted them was slightly surprising: Tommy and Kimberly were sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast and talking quietly. It was surprising because they all more or less thought they'd be too exhausted to be awake yet. At the incredulous stares from their former teammates, the two breakfast eaters smiled and said, "Morning guys."

After blinking away their confusion, they all shrugged as one and took seats at the center island, deciding that breakfast was more important than questions. Once they were all finished they retired to the backyard and Trini almost dragged Kimberly away to talk with her in private. Once they were far enough away from the guys, she asked, "Okay, spill; what happened last night?"

Kimberly just looked at her really innocently and said, "Nothing happened. We talked and caught up, and then went to bed."

Trini narrowed her eyes and said, "That's all, huh? So you slept together, then?"

Kimberly just smiled back and replied, "Well, we did sleep in each others' arms, and in the same bed, but outside of sleeping… Nope, nothing else happened."

The boys were having a similar discussion and were getting similarly stonewalled; at least, that's how they regarded it. An impromptu sparring match actually broke out between Jason and Tommy, which baffled Dr. Oliver ever so slightly because he thought Jason was the one that wanted to know the least of all of them. Of course, that's not to say there was anything to tell in the first place, but none of them believed him.

A short time later, a shout could be heard from the other side of the house. They knew it was Conner as he tended to do the announcing for the kids and he was the only one of them that simply called Tommy "Doc." Another shout alerted them that they were around back and once again the original Rangers found themselves in the presence of three teenagers and a small child.

Billy stepped forward and addressed the Blue and Yellow Rangers. "If you're ready, I'll start your training now. The first step is all mental preparedness, so it'll be better if you're both trained on it together. Come with me."

Together they walked to a secluded portion of the backyard and sat in a sort of circle. There, they started performing basic mental exercises to help clear their minds and focus them inwardly. The first thing was something they both needed; an off switch. Billy began explaining methods of closing off their minds and their powers, such that they can block out everything at once. After mastering that they would go on to only letting in what they want.

After yesterday Conner had been itching a little to practice his soccer game some more, so he brought his soccer ball with him and started into a basic routine that he used to do when feeling the need for exercise or was just bored. Caroline watched him intently, yesterday being the first time she'd had the chance to watch him play. Conversations among the others erupted everywhere, and soon everyone in the backyard was busy. Things had continued for a few hours before Billy hurriedly walked up to his host and said, "Tommy, can I use some of your analysis equipment? I need to test a theory…"

Tommy looked confused for a second before saying, "Sure, but what for?" He didn't get an answer, as Billy simply turned around and beckoned to his students. They followed him in the house with the others staring after, unsure of what was going on. Tommy turned to each of them in turn and said, "Come on; I don't know what's going on, but it has to be important."

Everyone followed after and found Billy down in the Command Center waving a scanner of some sort over Kira. They waited for him to get finished before Conner stepped forward and said, "What's going on? Is something wrong with Kira?"

Billy shook his head and said, "No nothing's wrong with her, if you don't count her not being human being nothing wrong." This statement was met by resounding silence.

Kira turned to Billy and asked, "What do you mean I'm not human? I'm just like everyone else here, aren't I?"

Once again, Billy shook his head. He answered, "Oh, you're mostly the same as all of us, but you have very subtle differences…" He turned to face the others. "This is going to be easier to explain if we're all sitting down. Shall we go upstairs?" He went ahead and walked up, causing the others to follow behind. Once they were in the living room and seated, he continued. "I first became suspect that she may not be human when I learned of her gift; empaths are rare enough in the universe as it is, and it's the first time I've ever heard of one from Earth. I'd been wanting to perform this scan since yesterday, but hadn't had good reason to until we started our training today; among the things I was trained to do on Aquitar was to analyze brain waves to determine what race a person is, even if they were surgically altered to look another way. I was practicing that on them while they were trying to block me out when I noticed a different pattern than I was expecting from Kira."

"What are you trying to say, Billy? I'm from another planet?"

"Precisely." She gaped at how calmly he spoke the answer, but he ignored it and continued. "Approximately 17 Earth years ago, the planet Melodia was conquered by Dark Specter; its people were subjugated and the royal family was eliminated… but for one small child, or so they say. Rumor currently states that the youngest daughter of the Royal Melodian House was smuggled out at the beginning of the invasion and taken someplace for safekeeping. Since Dark Specter's defeat, the Melodian people have been trying to reorganize their government, but have been having a problem of it. The people have been demanding that search parties be sent out to find the missing princess, but those currently in power keep dismissing it as a legend with no truth to it." He paused to gather some thoughts. "Kira, you were adopted about 17 years ago, were you not?" She nodded but said nothing. Conner scooted closer to her and put an arm around her for comfort, which she gladly leaned into. "What seals this isn't even the scans I took or the brain waves I sensed… The members of the Melodian Royal Family all had the same gift of empathy; it's what made them such respected rulers. They could always sense when the people were dissatisfied or when what they were doing was keeping the people content. You, Kira, are the missing princess."

The room lapsed into silence. That declaration was almost too much for Kira; she wanted to faint, or run away, or _something_… the last thing she thought she would learn was that she wasn't even from the planet she was living on. In some small way, it made sense, what with her ability and the fact that at times she didn't honestly feel like she belonged. Until now, at least. She found her voice during her musings and asked, "What are my people like, the Melodians?"

Billy smiled at her acceptance and answered her, "They value the cultural significance of music above all others. Almost all of its citizens learn an instrument of some sort, if not multiple ones. They were a peaceful people, whose music was known all over the galaxy… But when Dark Specter appeared, all that changed. They've been trying to rebuild their former glory, but it's been slow going. Still, so long as nobody tries to follow in Dark Specter's footsteps, though, they shouldn't have any more problems."

"So…" Kira thought out loud, "What does this mean for me?"

"It doesn't mean anything you don't want it to." She turned to see Conner smiling at her as if nothing had been said. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had thought this would make everyone see her differently; the looks on everyone's faces and the emotions she could feel coming off of them all told a different story. "What you choose to do now is entirely up to you."

Smiling back, she said, "I still have obligations here; I'd like to get through high school before even thinking of leaving the planet, plus there's the fact that I'm a Ranger here, and you guys need me." Although she had barely any mental training as of yet, she tried her best to project her unspoken feelings to them all; whether they were received or not, she couldn't tell.

Caroline looked up at Kira with sparkling eyes; she said with more than a hint of awe, "I know a princess…" Conner grinned at his daughter and tried to pull her onto his lap, though she lunged for what little space was between her father and Kira and snuggled in-between them; it was quite the heart melting scene.

Ethan, however, had had enough of it for now and stood up; looking to each of them in turn he said, "As gut wrenchingly cute as this is, I'm taking off; I have to get home to work on something." Conner started to disengage himself from his make-shift family, but Ethan held up a hand. "Don't worry about it. I'm gonna walk. Bye guys."

Ethan walked out the door just as Hayley was walking in. He excused himself and took off down the road. Tommy was about to greet her when he saw the look on her face. "What's wrong, Hayley?"

She half smiled and said, "I got a detection this morning from my computer in the back of the café… I'm not sure if you're gonna like it." She walked past the group and headed down to the Command Center; the others followed two steps behind. She sat at the computer terminal and punched up the same scan that her own computer had done but a few hours ago; within minutes a signature was pinging. She turned back to the others and asked, "Can you guess what this is?"

Tommy stared in disbelief. Most of the people gathered were confused as to what was going on. Conner, however, ventured a guess. "Another Dino Gem."

Everybody looked at him. He shrugged and Hayley said, "Exactly right. Anyways, it might be a good idea if we retrieve it before Mesogog detects it."

Conner looked over to Kira, who nodded. "We'll go." They got into position and called out, "Dino Thunder, Power Up, Hah!" In an instant, they were morphed; they looked over to Hayley and waited for her to teleport them.

She shook her head and said, "There's too much interference from that Gem to teleport within a couple of miles of it… Fortunately I was prepared for this eventuality…" She hit a couple of other buttons and a wall slid away, revealing a bay with four color-coded motorcycles. "These are the Raptor Cycles; I designed them for cases like these where teleportation was out for some reason." Conner and Kira nodded and headed for their respective cycles. Revving them up, they turned them towards the exit that led out to the forest. Before they headed out, Hayley called after them, "I'll keep the communications open to guide you there."

* * *

Hayley's directions brought them to a field far outside of town. Since she didn't have a precise location for the Gem to be found, they started a coordinated search of the general area, going out in a spiral. As Kira crested a ridge, she noticed what looked like a figure standing alone in the field. She turned and shouted, "Conner! I think I found something!"

He jogged up to her and she pointed towards what she found. It was a fair distance away, and had she not pointed to it, he likely couldn't have seen it from this position. He placed a hand on her back and said, "Good eyes. No wonder you pilot a flying zord."

She beamed back at him as they started towards the lone figure. As they approached, the figure turned out to be a stone statue; something in its forehead seemed to be either emitting light or reflecting it at a higher intensity. The closer they got, the brighter the light became. They were within a few meters when they first felt it… it was like a dull pain, like a mild headache. Kira could see her companion holding the side of his helmet like he couldn't concentrate. "You can feel it, too." She stated.

"Yeah, it's that thing in its forehead. I think that's the Gem we're looking for… It's shaped differently, though." The statue was not exceptionally tall, but with the base, the head was too far out of Kira's reach. Conner reached up and managed to pry the stone-like object out of its head; the mild pain continued as it had before, but now a strange sense of oppression washed over him. Kira could feel him getting more apprehensive just from holding it; she theorized that their suits were dulling whatever sensations that the gem was emanating.

Before she had a chance to speak her thoughts, a harsh voice rang out, "That does not belong to you! Hand it over or suffer the consequences!"

They looked up and found Elsa and a squad of Tyrannodrones at a distance from them; her sword was drawn and she looked quite angry. Conner handed Kira the White Gem and said, "Take this back to the Doc for analysis. I'll hold them off and follow you in a few minutes."

She hesitated for a moment before nodding and starting off for her cycle. She turned back and said, "Be careful, and don't get yourself hurt… Come back to us."

He nodded and said, "I promise; now get going! We can't let them have that Gem!" She turned and ran to where they had parked the cycles, revving hers up and speeding away. Once he saw she had made it, he turned back to the unwanted visitors and said, "Bring it on."

The 'drones charged him and he drew out his Tyranno Staff; he blocked several swipes and laid a few of his enemies out before breaking free of the throng and charging Elsa. She parried his staff swing and slashed back at him, the two of them trading blows back and forth. Elsa appeared to be getting more and more relaxed as the fight wore on, which unnerved the Red Ranger considerably; he hadn't noticed the opening and closing of several more Invisiportals throughout their fight. She disengaged from him suddenly, which caused Conner to stumble a little before reassuming a defensive stance. Before he knew what was really happening, hundreds of Tyrannodrones had surrounded him and were piling on top of him; try as he might, he couldn't escape from under their attacks. He disappeared in a sea of 'drones and for a moment, everything was still.

Suddenly, there was a brilliant red glow from the center of the crowd; Conner emerged from under the cover of the 'drones and began a fierce counterattack. He appeared several times stronger than he'd been before, with bony protrusions like spikes covering his Ranger suit. Several 'drones at a time were falling from each strike, and within minutes, none were left standing. He turned his attention to Elsa, who simply stared at him with her sword drawn; with a mighty snarl, the Red Ranger leaped at his lone adversary and began attempting to cut her down. She managed to block a few of the strikes with her sword, but with each swipe, new cracks were forming in the mighty blade. One time too many she attempted to defend herself with it and it finally shattered; Conner continued his assault and with a few cuts from the spikes Elsa was left crumpled on the ground and bleeding from several deep gashes. When there was no more retaliation, he stopped and finally saw what he'd done; he nearly threw up in his helmet from seeing the destruction he'd caused. The Ranger's transformation disengaged itself, and he was left in his regular suit. Realizing he had no business sticking around and feeling incredibly drained, he headed for his cycle and sped back to the Command Center.

* * *

Kira got into the Command Center and parked her cycle next to the others. She stayed morphed, however, because the suit seemed to help act as a buffer for whatever the Gem was emanating. She brought it over to the others by the computer and held the Gem out to show them she had it. Tommy asked, "Where's Conner?"

Kira drooped her head a little and replied, "Elsa and some drones attacked; he ordered me to get back here while he held them off, promising he'd follow." She closed her hand around the Gem before anybody could think to touch it. Tommy was holding his head like he had a migraine; Kira said, "You can feel it too, Dr. Oliver? Kind of like a dull headache and an oppressive force?" He nodded but said no word. He was about to reach out for it when she cried out, "No! Don't… at least not without morphing. I think the suit absorbs some of whatever this thing is putting out before it reaches us."

Tommy backed away from everybody and looked about ready to morph when Hayley jumped up and put a hand on the device. "Don't do that, either. That Gem's White, right? You're Black… I don't think you should be handling that thing, morphed or not. The effect will probably be amplified with you." She walked over to a corner of the Command Center and picked up a small glass dish. "Kira, please put the Gem in here. I'll put the lid on the dish and we can analyze it like that."

She did as she was told and waited for the sample to be in the analysis section of the base before finally demorphing. Once she was back in civilian form she turned to the forest entrance and softly said, "Come on, Conner… Where are you? You promised you'd be right behind me…"

She felt a tug at her sleeve, to which she looked down and saw Caroline staring up at her with concern in her eyes. She said, "Is my daddy coming back?"

Kira crouched down and pulled the little girl into a hug, whispering to her, "He promised he'd come back; just have faith that he'll return…"

They stayed like that for several minutes before they heard the sound of the door sliding open and the Red Cycle slowly ambling in to the base. Conner parked the vehicle before climbing off and slowly starting towards the others. Kira and Caroline raced up to him and hugged him, nearly causing him to fall backwards. He powered down while still embracing them and said, "See, I told you I'd come back…"

Kira felt his body go limp and she slowly lowered him to the floor. Billy rushed over and felt for a pulse while listening to his breathing. He said, "He's just exhausted. I'd suggest we find him a bed to rest in." He nodded to Tommy and Zach to help him carry the boy, and Tommy started to steer them into the next room. Billy looked at him and said, "No, Tommy; I said a bed, not a medical cot. He doesn't need treatment, he needs sleep. Don't you have a spare bedroom or something?"

Tommy nodded sheepishly and began leading them upstairs. Kira held to Caroline's hand as they followed them up. Another flight of stairs up and they managed to situate him in the bed. Conner hadn't stirred throughout the whole ordeal, which was bothersome to Kira, though since the others weren't worried, she supposed it was to be expected. Once the older men had left the room, Caroline let go of Kira's hand and jumped up onto the bed, curling up close to her father. Kira looked at the scene and decided that she didn't want to leave them alone; she crawled in next to them and whispered to the little girl, "Stay quiet so we can be here for him when he wakes up." She didn't reply; Kira found that she'd already fallen asleep. Smiling, she curled closer to the pair and fell asleep as well, having also felt a little strained from the day's events.

* * *

While the others were carrying Conner up the stairs, Hayley and Trini were marveling over the new Dino Gem in their midst. It was putting out far more energy than all of the other gems combined, and it had some strange encoding on it that seemed to resonate oppressiveness. The other Dino Gem holders seemed to have adverse reactions to it.

"I get the feeling that we don't want anybody to get access to this gem…" Trini stated.

Hayley nodded. "Even so, that doesn't mean that it won't be useful someday. After some testing, we may be able to remove whatever is causing this Gem to react this way."

While they were gauging the power of their new acquisition, Jason and Kimberly were worrying over Conner's status. Kimberly said, "What could cause a Ranger to exert himself that much? I know he was by himself, but that same thing never really happened to us… The closest was when Kat had stolen my Power Coin."

"Yeah, it's pretty unnerving. Still, though, we should be thankful he even came back at all." Said Jason.

Tommy, Zach, and Billy came down the stairs a moment later. Zach asked, "Was it such a good idea to leave them alone like that? I mean, they are teenagers."

Tommy laughed and shook his head. "Don't forget that his daughter is in there with him, and even if she wasn't, I trust them to not take things too far." He then smirked and said, "Besides, he's unconscious." He approached Hayley and asked, "So, what do we know?"

Hayley looked up at him and frowned. "We know we don't want anyone to have this Gem until we can remove the encoding from it."

Billy walked forward and asked, "What encoding?"

"It's emanating negativity. I imagine that whoever is supposed to have this is already a very angry person."

Tommy now frowned as well. "So it's evil?"

She shook her head. "I wouldn't say that. I'll admit that should the rightful owner get ahold of it they may turn evil, but neither is evil on their own."

Tommy gave it some thought before saying, "Well, at least we already know who it belongs to for certain, now." Hayley gave him a funny look, prompting him to continue. "The kids informed me yesterday that they ran into 'an oppressive destiny' at the café that morning. I think they mentioned his name was Trent, or something like that…"

Her eyes widened in shock. "Trent? As in my new employee Trent? He didn't seem to be off balance or anything…"

"He might be internalizing whatever is causing him to be qualified for this Gem. We should probably see if we can't help him through his problems, or at least find out why he feels the way he does."

Jason walked up behind them both and put an arm around each of their shoulders and said, "Well hey, why don't you just lock that Gem up for right now and lets all go out for some dinner, 'cause I'm hungry and I think we could all use the break!"


	8. Gamer's Lament

**Author's Notes**: I apologize for how long it took to get this out there. I have more difficulty when trying to tailor my take on these characters to an actual episode of the show like I did here. Yes, in order to work in Zeltrax's addition of the Triptoids, I needed to have this happen, as I didn't want to write in a new and strange way for him to acquire them. The chapter ends abruptly, mostly as I have nowhere else to take this for the moment. Cookies to those that figure out where I might possibly be going with a small, almost insignificant plot thread that has revealed itself this chapter.

Outside of the first portion of this chapter, though, I'm not completely happy with it, but as I said, I'm just not very good at adapting directly from individual episodes. General ideas, yes, but actual content is likely to lose something along the way. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it and please remember to leave all comments and complaints in the review box!

**Disclaimer**: Power Rangers is owned by Saban. Power Rangers Dino Thunder was owned by Disney at the time. I only own the words and the story, and the characters of Caroline, Jessica, Jen, and… there was that one soccer guy, but I've forgotten his name…

* * *

Conner's return to consciousness was associated with two sensations: first of all, he felt stiff as a board, as if he hadn't moved even the tiniest bit in several hours; secondly, he was aware of a warm presence off to his right side. At first this was all there was, as he hadn't opened his eyes, nor had any of his other senses truly opened up yet. He attempted to shift position a little, but his body protested and all he managed to do was frustrate himself. The warm presence stirred against his side and he felt it shifting a little closer; a thought came to mind when he realized the size of whatever it was was next to him; '_Caroline_.' This conclusion somehow opened his sense of hearing, and he could hear her steady breathing… and the breathing of another. '_Who could that be?_' He wondered. Whoever it was was right next to the both of them, and breathing deeper than his daughter was.

Finally, he was able to open his eyes. It didn't do him a lot of good, though, as he couldn't turn his neck enough to look to his right. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see two lumps under the covers; a small one right up against him and a larger one right next to it. Whoever it was appeared to be asleep as well, so he was unsure of if he wanted to wake them or not. Tired of lying on his back he tried to once again shift to his side, but once again encountered resistance from all of his muscles; he let out a groan, which caused the larger of the forms in the bed with him to stir. He heard a female voice that he didn't immediately recognize say, "Conner? Are you awake?"

He said nothing for a moment as he attempted to connect the voice with a face. It was different; a little deeper than he was used to, but it definitely reminded him of Kira's voice a little. If that was the case, though, why was Kira in the bed with him? For that matter, why was he in bed anyways? The last thing he remembered was returning to the Command Center on his cycle… '_Must've passed out_' Conner thought. He had been exhausted, having tapped into whatever power that was and fending off hundreds of 'drones… Finally, he remembered the voice calling out for him and he croaked back, "Kira? Is that you?"

She carefully got out of the bed on the other side and made her way around to his left side. Once she was within his sight, he confirmed that it really was Kira… with the most ridiculous bed head he'd ever seen in anybody. He attempted to laugh, but once again his body protested the jarring motions and caused him to groan again. Kira just smiled down at him and shook her head. She asked, "How are you feeling? Can you get up?"

"Cardboard; I can't hardly move. Do you think you could help me? I'm sure I'll start feeling better once I get to moving around…"

She slid her hand under his body against his back and slowly bent him at the waist, allowing him to sit up in the bed. She moved him carefully, so as not to awaken Caroline with his motions. She moved his legs so that they were dangling off the side of the bed and then bent down to put his arm around her shoulder. Slowly, she lifted him off the bed, letting him put weight on his feet as he felt he could. He lifted his legs one at a time in order to get the feeling back into them, then started working on his arms and shoulders. Finally, he started rolling his neck around. While he still felt a little stiff, he was certainly feeling much better, and at this point it was nothing that a really hot shower wouldn't fix. Kira got out from under his arm and turned to look at him; she said, "I bet you're hungry. I mean, _I'm_ hungry, and if I'm hungry, then you most definitely are."

Conner walked about the room a little to make sure he was up for a trip to the kitchen when he turned to see what Kira was doing; she had walked back over to the other side of the bed and pulled back the covers. Revealed to have been sleeping there the whole time was the curled up form of Caroline. Without waking her, Kira managed to get an arm under her and picked her up in order to bring her with them. In that instant, something had changed, as evidenced by the sharp intake of breath from Kira. Whereas before Conner was merely attracted to her, seeing her now cradling Caroline against her shoulder made him do the one thing he hadn't thought possible anymore: fall in love. In a moment, however, he realized that she instantly knew this change had happened and felt a little embarrassed about it, but with a warm smile from her that quickly dissipated.

Wordlessly, they walked out of the bedroom and into the upstairs hallway; Conner realized right then that he was still in Dr. Oliver's house. After passing out, he must have been moved into a spare bedroom. They slowly walked down the stairs, he because he was still getting used to moving around again, she because she didn't want to jar Caroline awake. Once in the living room, they were met by the arriving form of Kimberly Hart, who had apparently just come in from outside. Conner noted that while it was still light out, the sun was starting to set. Upon seeing that they were up, Kimberly smiled and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I had some trouble moving when I woke up, but with some help I was able to get moving around again."

Kim was about to say something else when she noticed that Kira was holding a still slumbering Caroline. She stopped herself and instead motioned for them to follow her. They arrived in the kitchen where Dr. Oliver was apparently cooking dinner. He turned when he heard sound coming from behind him; once he saw his guests were (mostly) awake, he asked, "What happened out there?"

Thankful that the question was different than what he was expecting, he took a seat at the center island and said, "We found the Gem in a statue in the field. I pried it loose just before Elsa and some 'drones showed up. I handed Kira the Gem and told her to get it back here and that I promised I'd be right behind her. Once Kira was safely away, I started taking out the 'drones before turning to Elsa. She wasn't fighting back as hard, and I soon found out why: hundreds of Tyrannodrones had 'portalled in and surrounded me. I honestly thought I was a gonner right then, but that's when I remembered my promise… I couldn't die there, I had to come home." He paused to collect the rest of his thoughts. "I could feel a power welling inside me. I took hold of it, and the next thing I knew, I had several times more strength than before. My suit changed; the white diamonds turned into these sharp, boney spikes. I was able to take out all of the 'drones that had ambushed me, and then I turned my attention to Elsa. She tried to defend herself with her sword, but I shattered it, then left her crumpled on the ground bleeding from several places…" He shuddered. "That's what snapped me out of it. I'm not saying I couldn't control the power, but it certainly made me pay more attention to my baser instincts, most especially survival. After returning to my senses, the new power left me and I used all my willpower to stay morphed and get back. The rest you should know more about than I."

During the story, Tommy had returned to his cooking and had just about finished it by the time Conner was done talking. He turned to look back at him, saying, "Sounds like the Gem responded to a genuine need again; you had made a promise to return, and in order to fulfill that promise, you needed more power. You got the power, but it looks like you exerted yourself a little too much. Next time that power activates, try not to overdo it." He paused momentarily before asking, "Why'd you do that, anyways? You could have gotten away at the same time as Kira did…"

"I couldn't let them follow us back here… then bringing the Gem here would have been for nothing, plus the Command Center would have been found out."

The smell of the food Tommy was preparing to serve was enough to wake Caroline from her nap. At first she was confused that she wasn't in the bed anymore, but calmed down when she noticed Kira was holding her, then got excited as she spotted her father sitting at the table next to her. She lunged and Conner barely caught her as she shouted, "Daddy! You're okay!" He laughed at her enthusiasm, but inwardly cringed as his aching muscles had to contend with catching and holding onto the bundle.

"Yeah, nothing a little rest couldn't cure. You hungry? I think Dr. Oliver has just about finished making dinner.

Sure enough, Tommy turned around holing a great big pot of spaghetti; he placed it on the table in the center, while Kimberly found some plates for them to use. A fifth chair was brought in and Conner sat is daughter down in it. They sat and quietly ate, mostly because Conner was genuinely quite hungry; Tommy hadn't been kidding, he _had_ over exerted himself. Fortunately, between the rest that he got and the food he was currently eating, he could feel his strength returning to him as if it had never left.

Once they had all finished, Conner decided he'd imposed on his mentor enough for one night, plus with school tomorrow he needed to get everyone home. He said, "Thanks for putting up with me tonight, Doc. I bet you weren't expecting to have a bunch of kids for a sleepover, huh?"

Tommy shook his head. "It's nothing, Conner. I brought you all into this, the least I can do is offer my home when you need it." They were preparing to leave when Tommy slapped his forehead and said, "Wait, I almost forgot!" Digging into his pocket he withdrew a small pendant on a chain and held it in front of Caroline. "This is for you; I want you to wear it at all times. It has a chip in it that will let us teleport you to safety should you be away from the Rangers."

Conner looked at the design in wonder. "It looks like the Dino Thunder symbol that's on our suits, but with five points instead of three… Why?"

Tommy smiled. "Well, there's no reason to announce to the world that she's actually associated with the Rangers, right? It's close enough without actually giving it away, in my opinion." Caroline gladly accepted the necklace and put it on right away.

The kids said their goodbyes and once again Tommy found himself alone in the house with Kimberly. She looked up at him and said, "I brought my stuff back with me."

He took a deep breath and said, "Are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, doesn't it feel like we're rushing things just a little?"

"You didn't complain when I stayed over last night… Plus we've already discussed this; what happened in the past is squarely in the past. You said it yourself that your feelings never really changed, and to be honest, neither did mine. I only wrote that letter because I didn't want to distract you from your duties, which I knew took precedence over our relationship. Now, admittedly, you have your duties again, but you aren't the leader this time; you're the part-time Zordon and part-time fighter. I can live with that… quite literally, might I add." She gave him a lop-sided smile and said, "Besides, I've been saying I could use a change of scenery, and I do like the scenery around here. I think I'd be a good influence to those kids, too; they could use a secondary mentor that isn't out in the field with them."

"They have Hayley, you know. She made all of their gadgets that they get to work with and knows how this power works even better than I do."

"Yes, but has she ever been out in the field? Plus I'm not just talking about being a Ranger mentor here so much as a life mentor. I get the feeling that there could be problems that the three of them would be hesitant to come to you about that they'd have no problems coming to someone like me."

Tommy sighed, knowing this was likely an argument he couldn't win, and just dropped it. If this was something she wanted to do, it wasn't his place to stop her; it will have to be something for the both of them to adjust to, and he might as well not complain about it.

* * *

The sun had just dipped below the horizon as the three of them left Dr. Oliver's forest home. All three of them were being extremely quiet, which Conner took meant that his daughter was asleep. The trip, as was typically, was uneventful. When Conner parked in Kira's driveway, he exited the vehicle ahead of her and walked around to walk her up to her door. He took hold of one of her hands, to which she blushed at his actions; together they walked up to her front door.

They stopped on the doorstep and faced each other. Conner was working up his courage to ask if he could kiss her, but she must have sensed his uncertainty as he found her eyes were closed and she appeared to be trying to lean up towards him. Taking this as a positive sign, he did the same, only bending a little as she was shorter than him. Their lips met about halfway, and the kiss was brief, but not without feeling; almost like a spark of electricity had traveled between them in that moment. When it was over, they both found themselves smiling.

They chose not to break the moment with words, instead using their body language to say their goodnights. Conner walked back to his car with Kira watching from the stoop. He waved as the car revved to life, which was Kira's cue to wave back and walk into the house.

Conner was so distracted by what had just happened that he hadn't noticed the gigantic smile that now adorned Caroline's face. He drove them home and was about to move the seat forward so that he could reach back to pick her up and get her into the house; before he had the chance, though, she jumped out of her seat and out the door, rushing up to the front door of the house, which was left unlocked for them. Conner stared after her for a moment putting the pieces together before finally realizing that she was definitely not asleep during the car ride. Sighing deeply, he prepared himself for the explanations he was likely going to have to make once he got inside.

He decided not to announce his arrival, as Caroline having come in first was a sure sign that he was following closely behind. As he approached the living room, he could hear his mother saying, "Oh really?" Once he had entered the room proper she looked up at him expectantly and asked, "How was your day, dear?"

Sighing again, he took a seat and began explaining what all had happened. His mother gasped at the revelation of Kira's heritage, then glared at him when he explained the events when he sent Kira away with the Gem. He finished by asking, "So, uh… what did Caroline tell you when she got in?"

She smiled back at him and said, "Oh, she was just telling me about something interesting that happened when you dropped Kira off tonight." At this point Conner turned a shade darker than his Ranger suit, which made his mother chuckle. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about; I'm actually quite happy for you." Something hanging around her granddaughter's neck caught her eye; it resembled that symbol on the chest of Conner's suit but was slightly different. "What's this?"

Conner looked at what his mother was indicating at and said, "Oh, uh… that's from the Doc; it's got a locater chip in it so that in an emergency where she's away from us she can be teleported to safety."

She nodded at his answer and said, "That was thoughtful of him," she looked at him pointedly, "though I hope it's not needed very often."

"As do I." Conner sagged a little bit; his muscles weary from all that had happened that day. He walked over and picked his daughter up, to which she giggled, still enjoying the attention he now paid her which he hadn't before. Together they walked up the stairs to prepare for bed.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Kira's house, she had just walked in the door when questions started swimming in her mind again. She began looking around the house for her mother, and found her in the kitchen. Without giving her mother a chance to ask her anything she first asked, "Mom, do you remember anything about the people that dropped me off when I was a baby?"

Her mother was startled by the sudden question. She turned to face her daughter and said, "I don't know; you were simply left on our doorstep without a trace of who left you or where you came from." Mrs. Ford looked at Kira with concern. "Why? Did somebody approach you?"

"No… well, actually, I met someone who has abilities similar to mine; he found it fascinating to meet another empath and agreed to train me to control my power, but while we were doing that today, he discovered something about me…"

Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Who exactly is this person? And what did he discover about you?"

"His name is Billy Cranston, and he basically discovered that I'm not actually human; I'm an orphan from a different planet."

She laughed at what she just said like it was ridiculous. "And you believed him? I'm not saying that you wouldn't have met someone with the same power as you, but I am saying that whatever purpose he has to try and convince you of something like this…" She paused and seemed to be considering something that just hit her. "Wait, you said Billy Cranston? I remember that name… he was in the paper a lot as an up and coming genius out of Angel Grove some years ago…" That's when something clicked in her mind. "Angel Grove…" She laughed again, only this time in exasperation. "Then take into account your science teacher is also from Angel Grove and put all the pieces together…" She shook her head. "The only thing I don't get is… How can he put himself in that kind of danger when he's got a young child to take care of?" Kira's eyes widened as her mother came to the conclusions she came to. The reaction was just the one she was looking for for confirmation. She sighed, "Kira, why didn't you tell me you were getting mixed up in all this Ranger business?"

Kira stood there, stunned. She said, "Um, that is… Well, we're kind of not supposed to tell anyone… The whole secret identity thing is really important; it's actually a rule passed down from the mentor of the original Rangers. Conner was given a pass, since Caroline was kind of there with us on one of the first times we transformed, so he had to explain things to his parents before she accidentally told them. As for why Conner is doing this? It's to protect everyone, same as me; plus, there's no one else who could have done it… it is destiny, after all."

Mrs. Ford looked at her daughter incredulously. "Destiny? You actually believe that?"

Kira gave her mother a hard stare and said, "Yes, I do. I have to, since not only have I always felt my own destiny tugging at me, but I've felt the destiny of others around me. I know it exists, and trying to deny it wouldn't do me any good."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, so why exactly were you brought here? Not that I'm complaining now, but if you know, it would be nice to know, too."

"The planet that I'm from was attacked by a villain named Dark Specter about 17 years ago. The people were conquered, but not before someone managed to sneak me away. My real parents were killed, probably for resisting… but would you expect the royal family to just lie down and accept defeat?" Now it was her mother's turn to be surprised. "Yeah, it explains my power, as only members of the Melodian royal family were empathic; supposedly it helped with their rule, as they could gauge whether their people were dissatisfied with what they were doing or not."

Mrs. Ford reached out to place both hands on her daughter's shoulders, then pulled her towards her in order to grip her in a hug. While still embracing her, she asked, "So what does this mean for you? Do you intend to leave and return to your people?"

"It's like Conner told me when we found out; this doesn't mean anything I don't want it to mean. I don't plan to even think about leaving the planet until I'm no longer needed here as a Ranger, as well as graduating high school at least. I have my priorities, and a planet full of people that I've never even heard of before today is not one of them."

They pulled away from each other, though her mother still held her at arm's length. She said, "Well, it sounds like you've had a long day today. Go on upstairs and get to bed… oh and don't tell your father any of what you've told me; I don't know how he would react to it."

Kira nodded and headed up. Her mother just stood there, wondering why the whole world seemed so upside-down all of a sudden.

* * *

Ethan was already in his seat when Kira and Conner walked into Dr. Oliver's classroom that Monday morning. They looked at him in mild confusion as he tinkered with a small device. Conner's curiosity got the better of him. "Dude, what is that?"

Ethan appeared a little startled for a moment and said, "Huh? Oh, this? It's nothing really… just something I've been working on…"

"Anything… _important_?" Kira questioned.

He looked at her really funny, like he couldn't understand what she meant by that. Then it dawned on him and he shook his head. "It's just, you know… a thing."

They rolled their eyes as they sat down, deciding to drop it for the moment. Kira then suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, Ethan… don't forget we have training after school. We'll be picking up where we left off yesterday."

"Okay." Ethan absently answered.

Other students started filing into the classroom at this point, giving sign to the three that they should stick to safe conversation topics. Dr. Oliver himself was soon to join them and got their attention as best as he could. He said, "Students, quiet please. I have two announcements: first is that Principal Randall will be out for a few days due to illness." This was met by cheers from everyone, which actually made Tommy crack a small smile. He subdued it before continuing, "Second, we have a new student. I'd like you all to welcome Trent Fernandez."

A Hispanic looking boy in white walked into the room and stood in front of the crowd; that same sense of foreboding and menace that the three had felt when they first met him still lingered around him, but the otherwise paralyzing thoughts and emotions held less effect over Ethan and Kira now that they'd had a little training with Billy. He waved to everybody and took a free seat with the Rangers.

The school day otherwise went by normally for the trio. A rumor was going around the school that somebody had sighted a strange looking figure roaming the city that weekend; it was described as being silver and black and wearing some kind of metal armor with a solid looking metal faceplate. Sometimes it was described as holding a crescent shaped blade. They made a note to ask Dr. Oliver if it sounded familiar to him.

As they prepared to leave the school to go to their training, Ethan turned to them and said, "I'll catch up, I've got to check on something at the café real quick. See you in a while." Kira and Conner looked at each other in puzzlement before shrugging and getting into Conner's car and speeding off.

They arrived to Dr. Oliver's home a short time later, noticing Kimberly and Billy sitting on the front porch conversing with each other. When they got out of the car they waved to each other, and Conner called out, "We beat the Doc here?"

Kimberly smiled and called back, "Sure did! And to think, he used to race stock cars."

They chuckled at that just as Tommy was pulling up to house. He got out of the car and said, "How did you beat me? I could've sworn I left before you… wait… where's Ethan?"

Conner shrugged and said, "He told us he had something do to at the café and that he'd catch up to us. He should be along soon."

Rather than spend the time waiting around and doing nothing, the five of them walked around back and further into the forest to work on some light training; Billy began tutoring Kira on how to fully insulate herself from the emotions of others, as well as some simple discipline exercises, while Conner found a way to convince Tommy and Kimberly to spar with him two on one. An hour had passed and there was still no word from Ethan. Billy had asked if he knew how important his training was, but the only answer he could get was a noncommittal shrug.

It was during a break from their training that Zeltrax and a platoon of Tyrannodrones showed up. They all immediately spread out and started taking the drones while Tommy tried to fend off Zeltrax. Once she was free Kimberly joined him and together they drove him back. Once the battlefield was cleared, Kira asked, "What was that about?"

Conner nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that was a little random. What could they possibly gain by attacking us here?"

They thought on it for just a few seconds before Billy said, "Ethan."

Their eyes widened and Conner said, "Distraction. Something must've happened to Ethan while we were being attacked…" He looked at Kira and she nodded back in response.

They started to run off when Kimberly shouted, "Guys! Morph!" They stopped short and looked back at her, then to each other looking a little sheepish. They morphed and headed out. Kimberly turned to Tommy and said, "And you! You fought that general without morphing! Are you crazy! You were getting your butt handed to you before I stepped in!" As she yelled at him he continually backed away from her, causing Billy to laugh. His laughter was cut short, however, when Tommy disappeared from sight. Kimberly asked, "Where'd he go?"

Now Tommy was looking at her in confusion, as he didn't actually go anywhere. Lifting his left arm, he saw his Dino Gem glowing softly in its socket in the bracelet. Now knowing his Gem's power, he smiled and walked around Kimberly, who was still standing in the same location. Leaning close to her ear, he softly said, "Looking for me?"

She jumped and spun around, but saw nothing. Tommy was silently cracking up at this while standing right in front of her just as the Gem's power canceled itself. Now clearly visible before them, she ran up to him and cuffed him over the head. "How did you do that?"

He ducked his head a bit and said, "It was an accident, honest. I had no idea my Gem was going to activate my power. All I knew was that I wanted to disappear really badly, and the Gem responded… It's just like with the kids Gems and their powers."

Billy chuckled. "It figures you would learn your power, not in combat with the actual enemy, but when defending yourself from Kimberly." She laughed at this as well, because let's face it, that really _is_ funny.

Tommy, hoping that this broke the mood against him, said, "Let's head back to the Command Center and see if they need any help."

* * *

Minutes later, the two Rangers found themselves creeping around the front of the cybercafé, wary of any visitors they may have. Kira peered through the front window and said, "Looks deserted; no sign of Ethan or anybody in there."

Conner drew his Thundermax Saber and said, "I think I know why, too." The Yellow Ranger turned to check on what he saw and found the oddest looking monster they'd ever encountered; kind of not really floral looking, with a head that reminded them of being covered in suction cups and magnets on the ends of its arms. The Red Ranger motioned towards the building and said, "Go check on Ethan, I'll hold off this guy for the moment."

Kira hesitated, remembering what happened the last time he said that, but nodded all the same and headed in. Conner squared himself against the monster but made no move to attack, deciding to react instead of rush in. The monster lifted its arms and fired at him, to which he dodged to the side and rolled away. Getting to his feet, he charged and slashed at the monster a few times; it was more agile than he expected and managed to move in such a way that the cuts were less serious than they could have been. Shifting his weapon to Laser mode, he crouched and fired several times, which caused the monster to make a run for it away from the café. Conner began to give chase, but noticed a closing Invisiportal as he turned the corner. Deciding to give up and find the others, he ventured into Hayley's and found no one there; sitting on the floor nearby a computer was Ethan's bag, and attached to that same computer was the device Ethan was messing around with that morning. Shaking his head, he started walking towards it, but suddenly got thrown forward from a blast that originated through the window behind him. He fell into Ethan's device, and in several flashes of light several strange looking creatures flooded into the café along with a morphed Kira and Ethan, who were fighting the newcomers.

"What's going on, guys?" Conner asked.

"Just fighting for our lives." Kira said. "You're welcome to join us."

Conner smirked under his helmet and jumped into the fray, having forgotten about what made him run into the machine in the first place. With the three of them working together, they made short work of the new foot soldiers. An Invisiportal opened at that point, and the three expected trouble; instead, their foes disappeared into it, leaving them alone in the café. They looked at each other before shrugging and demorphing. What happened next startled them all: a voice said, "For what purpose have I been brought here? Still trying to get the code out of me?"

The trio looked over and Ethan slapped his face with his palm. He said, "Guys, I think the Wizard Beldorf followed us out of the game…"

Conner shook his head and brought his bracelet up, pressing a button, and said, "Doc, I think you should teleport us back… _All of us_."

* * *

Once they had arrived at the Command Center, Kimberly immediately swooped in and took Beldorf out of the group, intent on keeping him distracted and allowing Billy to properly chew out Ethan for the reason behind his missing training. Tommy decided to let Billy be the one to talk to him while he, Conner, and Kira kept watch on the monitors for a reappearance of the monster. Hayley had arrived shortly after the others and had set to work on figuring out how to send the Wizard back into the game.

Soon after Ethan's tongue lashing was finished, the alarm sounded, and in seconds Dr. Oliver located the disturbance; the monster was back downtown and appeared to be trying to take out portions of the power grid based on the targets for its cannons. He nodded to the others and said, "Come on, guys, it's gonna take a team effort to clear this one out." They stood in formation and morphed, teleporting to the scene of the attack in the same instant.

They all started with their Sabers, Tommy with his Brachio Staff, but try as they might, they couldn't get close enough to get any good hits in. They switched to Lasers, which seemed to do the trick, as it staggered him enough for them to draw their individual weapons and get a few good hits in. Finally, they formed the Z-Rex Blaster and took him out for good… at least, until it grew to epic proportions right in front of their eyes.

Raising his morpher to his helmet, the Black Ranger called out for the Brachiozord, bringing in the Ranger's assortment of mecha to battle the now enlarged monster. The three combined to form the Thundersaurus Megazord, and battle raged between good and evil. They traded blows for several minutes, neither gaining the upper hand, until the monster burrowed underground, thus protecting itself and giving itself a sure method of attack. After it popped back out several times taking swipes at the Megazord, Conner had an idea; he looked to his teammates and said, "Care for some spear fishing?"

Ethan smiled under his helmet and said, "I'd love to." The Triceratops head switched places with the Tyranno Tail, which was now being held like a spear poised for throwing.

They used the Tricera Head as a detector to find where the monster was currently, and once they found it, Kira shouted, "Bombs away!" The Megazord threw the spear, which caught the monster dead on, and in a flash it was destroyed.

Hopping down to the street, they powered down and met a now civilian formed Tommy. He said, "Hayley said to meet her back at the café; she found a way to send Beldorf back."

* * *

They arrived just as Beldorf was saying, "I liked the other female better; you bore me." Conner and Kira both got a slight chuckle out of that, though they stifled it from the glare they both received from Hayley. The Wizard turned to face Ethan and said, "Still after the code, young man?"

Ethan shook his head and said, "Not anymore. I've learned my lesson on this one; it wasn't even that much fun trying to get to it, anyways, so how much better could beta testing the next game be?"

Beldorf cracked a small, lop-sided smile. "Probably a wiser decision in the end."

Hayley chose this moment to hit the button on the device, saying, "Time to say goodbye, Beldorf." A light mist appeared to emanate from the computer screen, and the Wizard disappeared into it. In the same moment, an incredibly muddy Cassidy and a relatively clean Devin appeared in the café, seemingly having been expelled from the game at the same time as Beldorf went into it. The Rangers got a good laugh out of the scene, as she complained about her condition and stormed out, with a slightly confused Devin trailing behind.


End file.
